“I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener.” John 15:1 TLB

Weeds

I have a garden that is filled with fragrant flowers and herbs and flowering bushes. During the spring it is alive with new growth, and bees, and budding plants…and weeds! So many weeds! Tall weeds, short weeds, flowering weeds, stinky weeds, prickly weeds, and even some pretty weeds. So out I go to yank, and pull, and try eliminating those weeds.

As I was busy uprooting those unwelcome weeds, I had time to myself, and Jesus started a conversation. He asked me if the weeds reminded me of sin. I really hadn’t thought of it, but I had to respond that “yes, I could see a similarity between real weeds and sin-weeds.” Jesus always gives me time to think between His comments or questions and the continuing conversation (…this time I was not sure I wanted to hear what else He was going to say). As I pondered His question, the Holy Spirit began pricking at my heart, pointing out selfishness, irritability, thoughtless comments, pridefulness, arrogance, impatience (surely the list could have continued, but I’m grateful the Holy Spirit stopped there!) My heart-garden was not producing the amount of fragrant flowers that it should because there were sin-weeds in there! The physical example in front of me was powerful.

I do not want sin-weeds taking over my heart-garden! I want my heart-garden filled with fragrant, beautiful God-flowers! Those sin-weeds come into my heart-garden small and silent and unnoticed until they get rooted and then they shoot up and start invading the beauty just like real weeds do in my own garden. Jesus reminded me that I need to be just as vigilant with the sin-weeds as I am with the actual weeds. I want both kinds yanked out by the roots!

Heavenly Gardener, thank You for wanting the very best for us. Thank You for not leaving us to grow as wild, unkept gardens but for working in us what is good, and right, and pleasing in Your eyes. Help us accept Your holy weed-pulling. Yank every last unwanted weed out of our heart-gardens! Amen.