Weeds

There is one thing about gardening that is a given...weeds happen. We all have them and no matter what we do they seem to creep into the bare of soil in our gardens which is their nature.  If we did nothing at all to maintain and weed our gardens soon these opportunistic plants would choke out all but the hardiest of plants and return the land to natural chaos.  It would take some years to happen, but eventually this garden would hold little or no form to the hopes of the original plan, at best becoming a shadowy reminder that anyone ever gardened there. This picture of the area outside the fence in front of my home is a perfect example of this concept.  It used to be richly planted with lavenders, spring blooming ground covers and bordered along the sidewalk by stones.  Since we removed these elements and left it to itself it has born only those plants that self sow or spread by root into it.  You will notice there are some perennial plants, annuals and of course weedy grasses and they will battle for domination in this area unless I take up the task of bringing it back into order. In considering this illustration I am challenged with regards to own spiritual life and what God has intended to be planted there for this season.

This week has been a week of taking stock...carefully looking over my life with regards to my faith, my service to Christ and my motivations.  I have had to look at "what" I am doing with the time in my day, "why" I am doing it; asking myself "is this of real value" or is it stealing valuable time away from the things I am supposed be doing.   In essence I have been looking over the condition of the garden of my life and what I am planning to do there.  Most important has been checking to see if things I am involved in or seeking to be involved in are pleasing to God and bring Him glory.  The motivation behind what I am doing is key here because if the answer to this is no, I must prayerfully dig deeper with His help that the root of sin behind what I'm doing would be rooted out and truth established in that area of my life.  The activities I'm involved in should keep my heart focused on loving and pleasing Him and produce the good fruit of the true Christian life of service, which are works of love done in faith.

This self examination of what I am putting into my life is a good and necessary practice for me as a Christian, just as weeding is necessary in the garden.  If I do not do this examining of things in my life from time to time, my spiritual life will suffer the same as my garden does when I ignore the weeds.  If I ignored completely those things I know need to be cut out of my life, the spiritual life wains and the joy in my relationship I once enjoyed with Christ will be buried beneath the thick mat of guilt or indifference by the weeds of a life lived, not to please God, but given over to the desires of my own flesh and lived in the darkness of my own understanding.

So as I look out upon my garden this February morning and take note of the weeds there, I am reminded that how I live my life should glorify God and how I am to be the fragrance of Christ to those who will be saved.  Just as a garden's beauty reflects upon the one who tends it and its fragrance calls to those passing by, drawing them in to come partake of it.   May my life, may your life, reflect the beauty and glory of the God of all creation and be the fragrance of our Savior Jesus Christ to this lost and dying world.
2 Corinthians 2:14

Copyright © 2010 by Patty Hicks

All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. All reviews must include author's name and a link back to this blog.