On Sins and Weeds..

This morning I have been out in the garden.  Weeding.  I started early to beat the heat, but despite that it was hot work and by mid morning I needed a rest.

I was amazed with the variety of weeds in my garden.  Some are so easy to pull out.  A quick tug and out they come, into the wheelbarrow for disposal.  Others need a bit of coaxing.  Then there are the ones that require a bit of digging, and more pulling and grunt to go with it.  But then, there are some that just don't want to come out!  No matter how hard you pull, they won't be budged and you have to dig down with the garden fork to get under the roots and loosen the soil.  Only then can you coax them out.  The worst one though, are those that multiply under ground.  They usually have bulbs down there, and if you pull the heads off, you cause the bulb to explode and regenerate.  You don't see it, but they grow and multiply hidden beneath the soil until at a later time they burst forth out of the soil in hateful arrogance for the hard work you put into the garden...

As I was sitting in the cool house having my rest and a cold drink, I started thinking about the weeds.  How like sin are those weeds?  There are some sins that enter our lives, and we have no trouble weeding them out.  We learn about the harm they cause not only ourselves, but our loved ones, and so we stop.  It's the right thing to do.  Still others we can get rid of with a bit of self control and/or self discipline.  We know what is wrong and what is right, and with God's help we put them into the garbage bin of life and get rid of them. 

But then there are those tough ones, that we word on, we get the shovel out and loosen the roots a bit, and keep working.  But it's so hard to get rid of those sins.  "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."  And so, with the power of the Holy Spirit we can work on those sins and get them out of our lives and be transformed.

Ooooh.  I forgot some.  Those weeds that have the bulbs  that multiply under the ground, sight unseen.  How harmful are sins like that?  We are blissfully unaware that we are harbouring anger.  Or resentment.  Or negative  thoughts.  And like a cancer they start to grow and multiply.  Until one day the ugly sin rears it's head, and suddenly we are aware of something painfully obvious.

It's impossible to rid ourselves of those sins.  At least on our own accord.  I started to thank God this morning that we had access to the Holy Spirit's power, to help us spray those weeds with His roundup!  Getting rid of those sins in our lives is a painful experience - but God promises to be with us through the fire.  And we come out the other end having grown in so many ways.

May God bless and hold you as He has me through my own weeding in life...

I didn't get to finish the weeding this morning - there are too many weeds for a few hours of hard work!  But I am getting there, and as I weed, I am replacing the weeds with fruit trees, an olive tree for my husband, and vegetable and flowers.  And that is what God does with our sins.  He replaces the sins with experiences and learning that enriches and nourishes our souls.