Weeds 101

     I spent almost an hour and a half pulling weeds this evening.  It has grown cooler recently in the mountains, and I enjoyed being out in the sunshine and the wind.  Unfortunately, once I got started, I didn't realize how long it would take me.  A lot of weeds had sprung up recently, and the rains we have had certainly didn't help.
     While I was pulling weeds, I had quite a bit of time to think about them.  Funny, isn't it?  When you are doing a task, it is easy to either think about other things, or the task at hand.  I decided that weeds had some lesson to teach me--they are mentioned in the Bible and clearly have some kind of application.  So, here is what I have learned from our uninvited guests.

1. Weeds are not part of God's original design.
     They result from the curse and if you have a garden, you have no doubt of this truth. Because of Adam's choice to disobey God, weeds are invaders to God's Creation. God says to Adam:  “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.'" (Genesis 3:17-18)
Weeds are a constant reminder of Adam's choice to sin against God.  As Adam's sons and daughters, we are not allowed to forget that sin came into the world through disobedience.  
2.  Weeds are part of the soil and their seeds are everywhere.  They serve to remind us that sin is as well.
     Sin, once it entered the Creation, permeates everything.  A day doesn't go by without something terrible happening.  Historians say that in 4,500 years of man's history, there has only been a total of 200 years of peace.  So, conflict and war, murder and mayhem, suffering and sadness seem to be everywhere and affect everyone.   
     As Paul observes, "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." (Rom. 8:22).  We feel the weight of sin as well as Creation itself. 
3.  We may not constantly plant weeds, yet they show up all the time.  
     We may not engage in particularly bad sins, yet we are never free from sin's pull, either.   Maybe we are tempted all the time and yet wonder why we are so afflicted.  Sin is part of who we are and the sooner we recognize this, the sooner we know we need a Savior:  "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
4.  We ignore the little sins and worry about the big ones, forgetting that all sins start small.
     I was tempted only to pull out only the large weeds.  They were the most ugly and obvious.  The little ones are hardly noticeable, and yet, where did I think the big ugly ones came from? 
     Any sin in our lives needs to be pulled.  It is far easier to walk away from a sin with a tiny root, than to pull out a well-established one.  In fact, the well-established weeds had sharp thorns or sticky sap that made them hard to pull out and they hurt my hand as I did so.  So, I tried to get all the little ones as well.  
     The deepest roots should be Christ in us, not sin.   "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ."  (Col. 2:6-8).
5.  Weeds thrive on the same things that plants thrive on:  water, sun and soil.
     Sin doesn't just happen.  It needs to be watered (we act on it), it needs sun (we give it our attention and time) and it needs soil (we allow it to grow, thinking we can leave it be at any time).  Of course, weeds are a counterfeit plant--some even look nice and yet will not only take over other plants, but destroy them.  Sin is a counterfeit joy--it looks nice and we are deceived into thinking we are in control.  Not so-- the weed of sin  eventually chokes off the life within us and sometimes we realize how deceived we are, after much damage.   
     But that is why God sent His Son:  to remind us that we cannot weed our own garden:  "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."  (Ephesians 2:8-10).
     In order to have a healthy garden or to keep our yard looking nice, we need to keep watch over the weeds.  Sin is no different:  without an admission of our need for a Savior and an everyday dependence on Him, we can too soon forget how nasty sin's weeds are and how quickly they take over.
     One final note:  Idaho has truly one of the nastiest weeds on the planet.  They are called Puncture Weeds or Goat Head Weeds.  They are ground creepers and spread out very quickly.  They have these very evil seeds that will puncture a bicycle tire or your foot.  You can't just reach down and pull them out because the seeds really hurt your hand.  I had to rake them and cut them right at the base of the stem.  I then used the rake to drag them over the side of a small embankment on our property.  
     My point?  No one will ever celebrate the goat head weed.  And yet today, sin is being celebrated as worthy of our attention and imitation.  Each generation has its obvious goat heads--those things that we were taught vigorously to avoid.  Sadly today, the most harmful weeds are being promoted as "transgressive" and "edgy."  But a goat head by any other name will puncture your skin and cause pain.  Sin by any other name will destroy and leave a scattering of broken lives in its wake.   
     Remember:  Satan will never advertise sin as slavery.  He promotes it as freedom.  God's Word is our field guide to sin and we must never doubt God loves us enough to tell us to avoid even the most beguiling of weeds.  This is the goat head weed as it starts out:  kind of lovely, huh?

This is what the goat head will put forth later on as it grows.  This is when the goat head reveals its true self.  Sin is no different.

The Rainbow's Message

“‘To Me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.  So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54:9-10)

     The months under spring and autumn’s sway are very turbulent in their weather.  We have beautiful sunny days mixed in with storms and snow.  The clouds are charcoal black and move in swiftly on high winds.  They replenish the land with moisture and then move swiftly on.  What I love about spring and autumn in the mountains are the rainbows.

     Because many of the storms rise up in the afternoon, and are over quickly, the sun has a chance to break through, low, over the horizon.  The sun extends its beams like fingers through the water in the air and the water creates prisms that divide the white light into brilliant colors.  If it’s dark on one side of the sky and the sun is shining through on the other, the combination is magical:  a rainbow appears, sometimes two, and arcs over the glens near my house.

     The colors can be sometimes muted if the sun is very low, or sometimes can be so bright that it takes your breath away.  Sometimes you see two rainbows:  one of startling color and one shadowing it, less intense, but ever real in its impact.

     Look at the conditions that bring such beauty:  high winds with sharp icy rain that pounds the mountainsides or fast moving storms where the rain races parallel to the ground.  Out of such ferocity comes such beauty that it’s easy to forget what brought that rainbow about. 

     God’s mightiness is awesome to behold and we should be humble before it.  Yet His beauty is equally awesome to behold, and it draws us to the One Who loves us so:

  “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’

declares the Lord.  ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

     You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  Instead of the thorn bush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed.’” (Isaiah 55:8-13)

     God uses His creation to reveal central truths about Himself and about His relationship to us. 

     The rainbow is a reminder of God’s presence and His sovereignty over the planet.  It’s a “small” miracle that keeps appearing to speak of His love over us and His desire to bring forth His beauty out of chaos and destruction.  In Noah’s day, it was the wickedness of humanity that brought down God’s wrath and the rainbow was a symbol that God’s wrath had been completed and He would again allow His creatures to choose life or choose death, by the way they behaved.  How mankind behaved was based on the values that were taught and practiced, and sadly, God would have to intervene many more times in history to remind His people of His way and how it is not man’s way:  “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6:7)

     Are we listening to the rainbow’s message of His fierce love for us and well as His love of justice, or is the rainbow just a passing glimpse of color?  

Prayer:

Precious God:  You remind us all of the time in Your mighty creation of Who You are and the love You hold for us.  You are majestic and yet bend down and touch our tearful faces.  Let us not forget that we are accountable for our lives and while You extend mercy for a long while, Your justice is equally important, and will have its day.  In Your Son’s Name, amen. 

A New Yew

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6

     Recently I planted a small yew bush.  It has wee berries on it, and seems to be doing well in my raised bed.  The soil around my house is sandstone mixed with shattered basalt and clay.  Very little grows in it—sage brush and wild grasses do well, but that’s about it.  If you want to grow anything, you must bring in rich soil.

     That’s what we did.  A friend of ours brought in soil, hedged it in with large rocks and voila!  Raised  beds.  I have planted many things in them, and at first, the deer were grateful.  One morning I went out to find seven of them, all with heads down, using my raised bed as a salad bar.  I asked them, “Hey, what are you doing?” and they slowly raised their heads, looked at me and trotted off.  There went $300.00 dollars’ worth of nursery plants in their happy bellies! 

     Then I got smart, and then searched out anti-deer plants.  Conifers, lavender and bamboo seem to fit the bill.  I also look for unfriendly-looking plants, such as yew and juniper.  I am assuming the tender leaves are more attractive to a deer, and the yew bush looked prickly.  We now have a fence the mostly encloses the area as well, so the deer aren’t as willing to venture in.

     The little yew is a joy, when you consider its counterpart, the yew tree.  Here is a picture of the oldest yew tree known: it’s about 2000 years old.  It's in Scotland.  It has a protective wall around it.

      My husband mentioned that yew trees were the preferred wood for making the longbow in the Middle Ages.  Why?  Because it’s flexible and strong.  I thought what a beautiful analogy for the Christian life.  We are to be flexible in that we need to bend with the winds that blow our way and not snap.  We need to be compassionate with others, not snapping our fingers at them to change now, knowing that at some point in our lives, we may be in their shoes, and we’d want mercy at that point.  We need to be patient with others and not snap at them, knowing that “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1). 

     Strong:  how often do the Scriptures admonish us to be “strong in the Lord”: 

“¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  (Ephesians 6:10-17). 

     The Lord not only admonishes us to be strong, but then gives us the tools that enables us to be so.  So my little yew has such potential:  to grow and be strong.  It will face many winters up here, with strong winds, and may even be buried in snow.  But, its potential, how it is constructed, will serve it well.  It’s also in rich soil—rich soil yields a stronger plant.  What kind of soil are we in? 

     We, with the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, have great potential to grow strong and flexible in Him, and face those winters with confidence.

Prayer:

Lord of My Heart:  I am planted in the richest soil possible:  Your Holy Spirit.  I may be small in You, but help me to grow and be strong in You for the winter winds will blow.  But rooted in You, I can face the cold with confidence.