Weeds in My Life
(I wrote this March 14, 2007)
Oh the weeds that are in my yard have become atrocious! Did it happen overnight? No way. They have been establishing themselves for quite some time. I had been waiting for someone else to take care of them. But… sometimes you just have to “take the bull by the horns” and do it yourself.
I worked in six areas of the yard and it didn’t take but about thirty minutes. I probably didn’t do as good or as manicured a job as the old yard guy used to do, but I did it and it was a great learning experience.
As I was pulling those horrific weeds from the ground it reminded me of the “weeds” I have in my own life; Myself, The sin in my life, The junk that is in my life.
There were weeds that were easy to extract out, there were weeds that had entangled themselves into the ground and wrapped themselves onto the shrubbery that was planted nearby, and there were even some of the poisonous variety.
As I was yanking some of those stubborn unwanted plants out of the ground, I thought about some of the easy weeds in my life. This may be eating too many chocolate chip cookies or not exercising my body enough. These are the easy “oops” in our lives that can be changed without too much difficulty. It will require will-power from us, but these habits are hopefully going to be painless to correct.
The “stuff” in my life that may resemble those weeds that become more grounded and entangled to my inner self will be more tenacious to weed out. Those sins may include driving a bit over the speed limit in a specific zone, or talking about someone else “in the name of concern for them”. Oh how these may seem not too bad when they occur, but the trouble it leads to in the end can be very harmful. These don’t only involve us, but those we tend to affiliate with (the entangled one). One time speeding in my car can lead to injury or even death of someone else or even myself. One too many conversations about a friend or acquaintance and you’ve either hurt their reputation or have labeled yourself as someone not worthy of trusting with matters of the heart.
The “poisonous” sins are those that can consume me inside if not attended to. For example, the impure or evil thoughts that may cross my mind. Those selfish times I may be thinking “What about me?” These can and will contaminate our lives. I know I’ve had contamination in my life and it brought much heartache. But when I daily took it to the foot of the cross, laid it before God, cried out to Him, and humbled myself before Him, He took care of it. God jerked those weeds out of my life and I continue to invite Him to be my permanent daily gardener.
Isn’t it interesting how we can classify our sins, but to God, a sin is a sin.
Psalm 103:3-4 (The Message) says, “He forgives your sins—every one. He heals your diseases—every one. He redeems you from hell—saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.”
Praise God! It is so refreshing to know that I have and serve a God that forgives, heals, redeems, and rewards me.
Whatever your sin is in your life, whether an easy oops or a poisonous unwanted plant, don’t wait on someone else to try to pull your weeds out of you garden, that won’t happen. Get with it and get cleaning. Call on the Master Gardener. God is there to pull it up out the ground and replant seeds of faith, hope, and love.
1 John 1:9 (Today’s New International Version) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Brothers and sisters in Christ let us confess our sins so that we may be purified by Him.