The Persistence of Weeds: Part 2

The perpetual problem of weeds torments the perfectionist. (But what doesn't frustrate a perfectionist?) Henry Scougal, a seventeenth century Scottish believer, understood these relentless struggles with sin:

 

I cannot get all my corruptions starved. There are still some worldly desires lurking in my heart, and those vanities that I have shut out of the doors are always getting in by the windows.

 

I cannot entirely purge the toxic desires buried in my heart. And whenever one pushes through the soil of my life, I must uproot it again -- and again and again. When my sons’ basketball careers resurrected my dormant dream of starring on a high school basketball team, that dream had to be repeatedly uprooted. But invariably I left a few seeds in the soil of my heart which would sprout anew, and again (sigh!) have to be expelled.

What is the life-sucking weed you struggle with? (If you don’t know, ask your spouse or a close friend!) Consider the man whose fall leisure has been hunting, but now realizes that his obsession has strangled other God-given work. Will he find it easy to establish Biblical priorities? It may be excruciatingly difficult. When he sees his guns hanging in the gun case, when his buddies recount their hunting exploits, when he hears the call of migrating geese, -- each of these reminders will tug at his heart, luring him from his eternal callings. And even if he adopts godly priorities for one season, that weed may perennially assault his soul.

 

We all have weed seeds that hide in the soil of our hearts, squeezing out our fruitfulness. Which ones lurk in the soil of your heart?