Though weed-free
is a fantasy, weed-controlled is a possibility. Whether in the garden or in
life, a persistent attack on weeds will ensure that I have increasingly fewer
weeds to control. The Apostle Paul explained: “Just as you used to offer the
parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to
ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness
leading to holiness.” (v.19) When I repeatedly submit to sin, I become enslaved
"to ever-increasing wickedness." But when I submit to God, I become a
slave to righteousness. Each time I refused to berate one of my son's coaches,
it became easier the next time, and even easier the next. As I repeatedly
knocked that weed back, its hold on me was weakened and I became increasingly
bound by the good.
The chore of
weeding is my chore. The cutworms won't decapitate my dandelions. The aphids
won't annihilate my bindweed. The cattle won't consume my thistles. Look at a
well-grazed pasture. The cattle keep the grasses trimmed to lawn height -- except
for the three-foot high thistle spikes. (I don't blame the cows. I put on
gloves to uproot thistles -- imagine eating one!)
I, too, must become
a weed warrior, continually combatting the weeds that threaten to overtake my life. I
must repeatedly praise God during an illness to fight the weed of self-pity. I
must routinely play with my children to knock back the weed of selfishness. I
am in a contest with weeds to see what will cover the ground. Will I sit idly
back and let life-strangling weeds fill my life? Or will I struggle to establish
Christ-honoring growth? I have a choice. The ground is bare -- but it won't
stay bare for long.
