Weed it and Reap
Someone has said: “It is not enough for a gardener to love flowers; he must also hate weeds.”
Tell me about it. Boy, do I hate those weeds in my garden. I see my poor, little flowers being choked and smothered and I just want to yank out those nasty weeds and shake them and . . . and . . . well, some of them are too hard so I just leave them there. It’s just too much effort. I guess I’ll have to settle for a less-than-perfect garden. Maybe if my flowers turn out really nice, people won’t notice my weeds.
Okay, I’m just joking. But sometimes it is easier to ignore the weeds. Because I’m new at gardening and not strong enough to pull out those deep roots, I actually have to break the soil and sort of dig out the weed (or ask my dad to pull it out!)
This really reminds me of our Christian life. Our life is like a garden in God’s kingdom which He has given us to tend. The more beautiful His gardens are, the more attractive and inviting His kingdom will be to others. But if our garden only grows weeds, well, the Bible says it’s only good for being burned.
As we try to grow fragrant flowers and the fruit of the Spirit, Satan comes along and plants temptations and sin in our lives. And what do we do about it?
Well, if we pull out the weeds immediately by resisting temptation, we keep our gardens, our lives, pure. However, if we reason and say, “Aw, I’ll fix that up tomorrow or next week.” That weed will grow taller and bigger and its roots will settle in deeper into the soil of our hearts.
Leave that weed in long enough and, when we finally decide it’s time to pull it out, it may be harder work than we thought – and either we’ll give up and leave it there or allow ourselves to be broken in order to pull it out.
Weeding isn’t the only thing involved in gardening, though. Plants need sunlight and water. We need to spend time in the presence of our Heavenly Father and we also need to nourish ourselves spiritually be reading His Word.
Now, if I neglect my flower garden, that’s pretty bad (or is that ugly bad?) But it’s not nearly as horrible as how my life’s garden could turn out if I neglected to take care of that! I pray that you, too, will take another look at your spiritual garden. Weed it and you will reap!
Try out online interactive life lesson for women, “Filling Our Garden: Annuals or Perennials?” part of our spring Bridal Series for brides-to-be.
Article by Ann-Margret Hovsepian. Used by permission.
