WEEDS
Then to Adam He said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return. Genesis 3:17-19
My wife is a keen gardener and I often stand back in amazement at how hard she toils, digging over the soil, removing stones and pulling out weeds. The constant attention a garden requires is backbreaking work and for all intents and purposes the weeds seem to win every time. No sooner are the tools put away they are at it again, popping up here, there and everywhere.
Would I be correct in thinking that trying to get rid of weeds, could be labeled as pushing back the evidence of the Curse? Putting that thought to one side, we must give thought to other weeding that we should be doing.
That is the weeding of our hearts.
My heart is my garden.
This is where I live and work.
BUT! Have you ever considered that as a believer, your heart does not belong to you? It actually belongs to God. You gave it to Him when you surrendered your life to Jesus.
You are therefore responsible for cultivating thoughts of Christ to enable you to receive with meekness the engrafted Word of God, and not only that, but to benefit from the influence of the Holy Spirit.
So consider the following:
1. Your life is from Christ.
2. The fruit is from the Holy Spirit.
3. The owner is the Father.
And you are on weeding duty!
There are Lessons to be learned from weeding:
Weed sooner rather than later:
Weeds can grow at a phenomenal rate.
Dandelion taproots anchor far below the surface.
A gentle, steady application of water helps:
When the ground (of our heart) is hard it is almost impossible to uproot weeds.
Regular exposure to the Word of God will soften the hold bad habits have on us.
Weeds are not fussy: They will sprout roots anywhere.
They will steal nutrients from the soil.
They will block sunlight and drink up all the water.
And if left unattended they will take over the whole garden!
THE SPIRITUAL APPLICATIONS HERE ARE OBVIOUS!
You have to be careful when weeding not to damage the flowers:
It is a dangerous gardener who starts weeding before learning the difference between dandelions and violets.
It is a prudent gardener who takes the trouble to study SOUL management to find out what God likes and dislikes in His garden.
You win or the weed does:
We all have weeds in our life and getting rid of them is a life-long occupation. Failure does not mean you give up!
We can take comfort though, because in the last book of the Bible we read that there is coming a time when the last curse will be removed:
And there shall be no more curse …. Revelation 22:3
