Weeding in the Garden of the Lord

Weeds Will Mar Beauty

I’ve been doing a lot of weeding lately and for some reason, there’s nothing like the smell of dirt and the feel of dirt in my usually ungloved hands, to get my thoughts going toward the sinful condition. The flowers are beautiful, the vegetables are delicious, but if left to themselves the weeds will mar the beauty and lead to destruction. You can already see the connection to sin, right?

Very Attractive But Extremely Destructive

It was a particular weed though, that recently really drove the point home. I was at a friend’s house so I wasn’t familiar with his garden. He had a lot of property so as I was going along I noticed a rather attractive green variegated leaf. That’s kind of pretty I thought. I’ll have to find out what it is. Looks like it would be good ground cover.

But then my friend came along and said, “Be sure to get all of that out. If you let that one go it infests everything!” I am ashamed to say I didn’t really listen to him at first. I was sure he was wrong, This plant was so pretty. And then as I progressed I saw big, brown ugly plants and that was when I realized what that “pretty little plant turns into. And those big ugly invasive plants were much harder now to pull out.

Sin is Like that…Attractive and Destructive

Just like sin. It can look so pretty, so innocent, so desirable. Just like Eve in the garden, it can be hard to imagine in those moments what the problem is.

Maybe I didn’t hear God correctly, maybe it won’t matter that much, just this once. You know all the excuses you use or have heard used by others.

But then we see what happens, how unchecked sin runs rampant in our lives and churches.

The family that just split up didn’t happen overnight; it began with a discontented heart fueled by a flirtatious look.

The addiction, no matter what it is to, began with a first try. No one ever thinks addiction will happen to them.

The person you are at war with began with an unresolved conflict, and most likely it was something small. But the damage was not foreseen. When the evil that lurks in all of our hearts, is taken for granted and the flesh is allowed to drown out the Spirit, the devil is enabled to take a spark and blow it into a full-scale conflagration.

How is the Garden of Your Heart?

So how is the garden of your heart today? What weeds are you allowing to take root under the guise of “looking pretty” or being so small? What do you need to ask the Holy Spirit to pluck out before it gets big, brown and ugly? You only need to ask.

“Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 139:23-24 AMPC

Blessings.