Today I was kicking myself for not keeping a closer watch on my garden, and for not taking the time to pull the weeds when they first sprung up and would have been more manageable. There are so many weeds in my garden at the moment I’m afraid they’re going to choke out some of my vegetables. After spending a half hour or so fighting with a hoe and trying (unsuccessfully) to rid my garden of the weeds, I gave up for a while and came in to read…
It was only appropriate, I guess, that I was reading James today. The NASB version of James 1:21 reads:
“Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.”
I was reminded of several parables about fertile soil and such, and together with the day’s experience my mind started to wander…
A new Christian is much like a patch of land that has been freshly tilled – when we come to Christ our slate is wiped clean – our soil, as it were, is prepared. If we are faithful, the Word takes root and begins to grow. Reading, prayer and worship can be compared to the the tasks involved with tending a garden, and eventually, if we have been a good caretaker, we begin to bear fruit.
Much like a freshly tilled garden though, sin, like weeds, is bound to spring up, and if we allow it to get a foothold it takes over and chokes out the fruit.
Hebrews 6:7-8 (NASB) says, “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.”
My garden got out of hand quickly because I neglected it during a week of storms. Hopefully, with some extra attention over the coming weeks, I’ll be able to salvage most of my crop, but how much easier would it have been if I’d pulled the weeds when they had first taken root?
