The Garden
After many years of apartment living, we moved into our current home. As the moving day approached, I anticipated the fun of having a backyard (albeit a small one, but still enough room to have a vegetable garden and a BBQ) and a few spots to plant gardens.
As winter gave way to spring, I prepared myself for the task of finding the remnants of the overgrown garden. It took a lot of work, but slowly I was able to pull, dig and weed through the flower bed at the side of the house. Did it transform over night? No, it was a lot of work because thistles and weeds needed to be dug up. There were vines and grass had seeped into the spot that was at one time a thriving garden, the soil was hard and rocky. It was at times overwhelming, my arms were sore and my back ached from all the work. I bought nice soil and plant food and worked all spring and early summer planting and doing more weeding and until finally the work paid off.
This past summer, I was finally able to enjoy the colours as the plants flourished. They thrived as I worked diligently to pull weeds. I had to keep working though, I had to drag a big hose through the property to make sure the plants were watered and I had to do it regularly. If I missed a day, some of the flowers would wilt and start loosing their petals because they were thirsty. I had to pull weeds to make sure that the plants were not overtaken. I had to pick off the flowers that started dying so that new flowers would keep blooming. In essence, I had to work to maintain the beauty of my garden.
Then, something happened towards the end of the summer. I got sick, very, very sick. What started out as a cold became a serious infection that left me bed ridden for over two weeks. There was no medicine that could make this leave faster, just a Dr's stern talk about resting and making sure I followed her orders so that I didn't develop pneumonia.
After about a week and a half, I finally ventured outside to sit in the backyard. The fresh air and sunshine felt wonderful on my skin. But as I looked around, I noticed something. The plants in my backyard were wilting. The garden was full of weeds and the few tomatoes growing were so small I laughed.
I cried as I realized that because I was sick, I had not been able to give any attention to the plants and they were suffering. After gathering up my strength, I went and looked at the garden at the side and the front of my house and cried harder. Because, the same thing had happened. Some of the plants had shrivelled up and died and others had brown leaves and dead flowers.
It hadn't taken long for this to happen either, just a few weeks. A few weeks of sporadic watering and me not being there to pull weeds had made the difference between something that was thriving and something that was floundering.
That got me thinking about my spiritual life. The Bible says that we are if we sow sin, we reap weeds (Prove 22:8 MSG). In fact, way back in Genesis, when Adam and Eve sinned, God told them the ground would be cursed and that thorns and thistles "shall bring forth" (Genesis 3:17-18). I think it's fitting that the Bible gives us that analogy about sin and ties it in with weeds right at the very start of the Bible.
Weeds show up in every garden everywhere, they don't need to be watered, or fed and if you're not careful, they can take over your entire garden and can even kill vibrant, thriving plants. It doesn't take a lot of time either, in the space of just a few weeks, I had weeds covering entire patches of my garden.
As I reflect on this very thing, on how easily weeds can take over our garden, I can't help but think of how easily sin can overtake our lives. In 1 John 1:6 we are told if we don't fellowship with Christ, we are walking in darkness, in Ephesians 5:11-12, we are called to not have anything to do the 'fruitless deeds of others', in Psalms 1:1, it says that we are to not walk in step with the wicked. There are many other verses where we are warned about sin. What is sin? Quite simply, it's an archery term. Yep... Archery, and it means to 'miss the mark'. How often do we do that? Miss the mark? It says in the book of Romans in the Bible that we ALL sin, every single one of us. We've been prideful, we've thought of ourselves before another person, we've lied, or hurt someone. Have you ever left work before you should have and put down on a time sheet that you were there? Called in sick when you really could have worked? Treated your spouse poorly, or your child? All of that is missing the mark... It's called sin. It's like a weed in the garden and if we're not careful, that sin can take over and control us.
Now, there is hope. Jesus is thevanswer to our sin. He gave His life and when we put our trust in Him, he offers grace and mercy for that sin. Salvation is given to us, grace and mercy are given to us. But, keeping the weeds out? It takes work!
Weeds can show up quickly and if not pulled out right away, they grow quickly. The bigger they grow, they harder it is to pull them out. The more weeds there are, the longer and harder the job of getting rid of them. As you grow in your faith, as you read the Bible and pray continually, those are like seeds and eventually, they will be plants which will start to flourish (remember I talked earlier about plant food and water? Praying and reading the Bible are nourishment to our daily growth, like food and water is to plants) and there won't be as many weeds. But, again you have to keep gardening! Remember my story of how quickly the plants started to wilt and die? How the weeds started showing up after just a few weeks of neglect? The same thing applies to our faith. There are many verses which talk about how to live (the popular Romans 12:1-2 come to mind, about renewing our minds and not conforming to the world, Philippians 4:8-9, doing what is right and noble and put it into practice and finally 1 Peter 5:6-8, be alert because the enemy prowls looking for someone to devour). All of these verses indicate our growth being a regular daily thing. It does not say You were ALERT, it says BE alert'. We are told to DO what is right and renewing our minds is not something we do once. It is a continual thing. Like pulling weeds from a garden. It is something that a gardener can stop doing.
So, allow that lesson to sink in. You will have to keep praying, keep focusing on God, keep reading your Bible, keep trying your best to be the BEST God wants you to be. And, remember to keep weeding. When you sin? Stop, ask for God's forgiveness, for His mercy and grace and try again to do better next time. Eventually, you will have a better looking garden, there won't be as many weeds in your life and your soul will be flourishing.
After many years of apartment living, we moved into our current home. As the moving day approached, I anticipated the fun of having a backyard (albeit a small one, but still enough room to have a vegetable garden and a BBQ) and a few spots to plant gardens.
As winter gave way to spring, I prepared myself for the task of finding the remnants of the overgrown garden. It took a lot of work, but slowly I was able to pull, dig and weed through the flower bed at the side of the house. Did it transform over night? No, it was a lot of work because thistles and weeds needed to be dug up. There were vines and grass had seeped into the spot that was at one time a thriving garden, the soil was hard and rocky. It was at times overwhelming, my arms were sore and my back ached from all the work. I bought nice soil and plant food and worked all spring and early summer planting and doing more weeding and until finally the work paid off.
This past summer, I was finally able to enjoy the colours as the plants flourished. They thrived as I worked diligently to pull weeds. I had to keep working though, I had to drag a big hose through the property to make sure the plants were watered and I had to do it regularly. If I missed a day, some of the flowers would wilt and start loosing their petals because they were thirsty. I had to pull weeds to make sure that the plants were not overtaken. I had to pick off the flowers that started dying so that new flowers would keep blooming. In essence, I had to work to maintain the beauty of my garden.
Then, something happened towards the end of the summer. I got sick, very, very sick. What started out as a cold became a serious infection that left me bed ridden for over two weeks. There was no medicine that could make this leave faster, just a Dr's stern talk about resting and making sure I followed her orders so that I didn't develop pneumonia.
After about a week and a half, I finally ventured outside to sit in the backyard. The fresh air and sunshine felt wonderful on my skin. But as I looked around, I noticed something. The plants in my backyard were wilting. The garden was full of weeds and the few tomatoes growing were so small I laughed.
I cried as I realized that because I was sick, I had not been able to give any attention to the plants and they were suffering. After gathering up my strength, I went and looked at the garden at the side and the front of my house and cried harder. Because, the same thing had happened. Some of the plants had shrivelled up and died and others had brown leaves and dead flowers.
It hadn't taken long for this to happen either, just a few weeks. A few weeks of sporadic watering and me not being there to pull weeds had made the difference between something that was thriving and something that was floundering.
That got me thinking about my spiritual life. The Bible says that we are if we sow sin, we reap weeds (Prove 22:8 MSG). In fact, way back in Genesis, when Adam and Eve sinned, God told them the ground would be cursed and that thorns and thistles "shall bring forth" (Genesis 3:17-18). I think it's fitting that the Bible gives us that analogy about sin and ties it in with weeds right at the very start of the Bible.
Weeds show up in every garden everywhere, they don't need to be watered, or fed and if you're not careful, they can take over your entire garden and can even kill vibrant, thriving plants. It doesn't take a lot of time either, in the space of just a few weeks, I had weeds covering entire patches of my garden.
As I reflect on this very thing, on how easily weeds can take over our garden, I can't help but think of how easily sin can overtake our lives. In 1 John 1:6 we are told if we don't fellowship with Christ, we are walking in darkness, in Ephesians 5:11-12, we are called to not have anything to do the 'fruitless deeds of others', in Psalms 1:1, it says that we are to not walk in step with the wicked. There are many other verses where we are warned about sin. What is sin? Quite simply, it's an archery term. Yep... Archery, and it means to 'miss the mark'. How often do we do that? Miss the mark? It says in the book of Romans in the Bible that we ALL sin, every single one of us. We've been prideful, we've thought of ourselves before another person, we've lied, or hurt someone. Have you ever left work before you should have and put down on a time sheet that you were there? Called in sick when you really could have worked? Treated your spouse poorly, or your child? All of that is missing the mark... It's called sin. It's like a weed in the garden and if we're not careful, that sin can take over and control us.
Now, there is hope. Jesus is thevanswer to our sin. He gave His life and when we put our trust in Him, he offers grace and mercy for that sin. Salvation is given to us, grace and mercy are given to us. But, keeping the weeds out? It takes work!
Weeds can show up quickly and if not pulled out right away, they grow quickly. The bigger they grow, they harder it is to pull them out. The more weeds there are, the longer and harder the job of getting rid of them. As you grow in your faith, as you read the Bible and pray continually, those are like seeds and eventually, they will be plants which will start to flourish (remember I talked earlier about plant food and water? Praying and reading the Bible are nourishment to our daily growth, like food and water is to plants) and there won't be as many weeds. But, again you have to keep gardening! Remember my story of how quickly the plants started to wilt and die? How the weeds started showing up after just a few weeks of neglect? The same thing applies to our faith. There are many verses which talk about how to live (the popular Romans 12:1-2 come to mind, about renewing our minds and not conforming to the world, Philippians 4:8-9, doing what is right and noble and put it into practice and finally 1 Peter 5:6-8, be alert because the enemy prowls looking for someone to devour). All of these verses indicate our growth being a regular daily thing. It does not say You were ALERT, it says BE alert'. We are told to DO what is right and renewing our minds is not something we do once. It is a continual thing. Like pulling weeds from a garden. It is something that a gardener can stop doing.
So, allow that lesson to sink in. You will have to keep praying, keep focusing on God, keep reading your Bible, keep trying your best to be the BEST God wants you to be. And, remember to keep weeding. When you sin? Stop, ask for God's forgiveness, for His mercy and grace and try again to do better next time. Eventually, you will have a better looking garden, there won't be as many weeds in your life and your soul will be flourishing.
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