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Weeds or Flowers
What's In Your Garden A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.—Song of Solomon 4:12 Rick Sconyers
Agarden usually has a wide variety of flowers, plants, bushes, and trees.
..They all need at least four things to
flourish: good soil, fertilizer, water, and the sun. A gardener needs a number
of tools to care for a garden. But what about the weeds! Whether we like it or
not, all gardens have some weeds. Those unwanted things grow fast and seem to
pop up over night! If not kept under control, weeds will eventually destroy a
garden. The largest weed in the world is the giant hogweed. It can grow twenty
feet tall with leaves as long as five feet. Garden maintenance requires a lot of
time, energy, and money. The Original Garden Consider the Garden of Eden filled with beautiful flowers, plants, and trees bearing luscious fruit. One can only imagine its beauty from visits to the great gardens of today. Here is how it is described in Genesis: “There went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. ... And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden … And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:6,8,9). In this garden was bdellium (verse 12), an aromatic gum like balsam, exuded from a particular tree. Thus the garden possessed a fragrant smell and was pleasing to all the senses. “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17). Thus Adam became Eden’s gardener. This garden was a perfect environment, a perfect setting, for a perfect creation. It thus pictures what God has in store for the whole world in the kingdom. After Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, he was told: “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. … Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken” (Genesis 3:17,18,23). Unaccustomed to a “cursed earth” Adam must have been amazed how hard it was to control the imperfect elements such as weeds and thistles that can destroy a garden. Adam found out it required hard labor to till the ground. Whenever he worked in his garden, he must have wished for what they had before, for that beautiful garden where he had sweet communion with the heavenly Father.
The same thoughts come to our minds when we make mistakes. If only we could go
back in time and correct the mistakes we made. We know, but rarely appreciate,
that mistakes, painful as they may be, are permitted for our learning and
development. Weeds Cannot Be Permitted If weeds, thorns, and thistles were permitted to multiply without restriction, they would soon take over everything, draining the nutrients from the ground. Their roots would grow deeper and deeper, making it difficult to pull them out. If left alone, they would choke the desirable plants. Their roots can become so entangled with those from other plants that good plants might be destroyed when the weeds are eventually removed. Consider the parable of the wheat and the tares. A tare is a poisonous weed that looks like wheat. As maturity approaches, the tares stand erect but the wheat bends due to the weight of its grain. In Matthew 13:24-30 we notice that these tares caused a great deal of harm. In that parable the householder is asked by the servants if they should pull up the tares as both wheat and tares are growing: “But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them” (Matthew 13:29). Earlier Jesus gave a parable of a sower and the seed falling on various kinds of ground: “Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them” (Matthew 13:7, Net Bible). The long-term destruction caused by weeds was aptly described by Solomon: “I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins” (Proverbs 24:30,31, NIV). And in the New Testament: “Land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned” (Hebrews 6:8, NIV). Thus in some parables our Lord described how devastating weeds can be. Clearly weeds represent sin and its effects. Sometimes sin seems to pop up overnight and if not eradicated immediately, it begins to spread; if not controlled, it takes over. We must contend with the weeds of our flesh every day, the common weeds of the world, and the sowing of weeds by the adversary. If we do not control them, they will take control over us! Weeds can also picture our
faults, our bad habits. If we do the same bad things over and over, and we
rationalize it by saying, “That’s just me,” things will get worse until we
finally take some deliberate action to control them. That means altering how we
conduct our lives. Special Flowers or Plants If you had a favorite flower or plant, you would not hide it. You would place it where it would look its best, where others could see and enjoy its beauty, and you would do what was needed to make it grow and produce more flowers or fruit. What would you do with a favorite weed? Such a thing does not exist. The word “favorite” means something preferred, favored, or desired. When we see weeds growing around our favorite plant, we immediately get rid of them. Our plant is too valuable to us to allow it to be compromised by something we can control. Our favorite plant is like our character. If we work to be more like our perfect example, if we let our light shine by doing all we can to serve the Lord and our brethren, then others will see those good traits. But if we allow weeds of the flesh to flourish, those things will be seen as well: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). Weeds also produce fruitage which could be injurious to others. Thus, weeds represent the fruits of the flesh, while a prized plant represents the fruits of the spirit. If we see only weeds in another’s character, we are focused only on their faults. How much better to admire the growth and the development of their spiritual fruits. Of course, the far more important question is not what’s happening to others, but rather, “What’s growing in our garden?” That weeds can produce fruit that might appear appealing is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. When Eve saw that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had lovely fruit, was pleasant to the eyes, was desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and gave it to her husband who also ate it (Genesis 3:6). This tree was not a poisonous weed; but Satan used something that was perfect to entice Eve with his lies. How many times has he done that to us, and afterwards we were sorry for what we did? Satan can easily put thoughts into our minds to make us think the “common” weeds the world accepts are worth our attention, even though we know they are not acceptable in the Lord’s sight. Satan wants to lead us out of the narrow way in which we have vowed to walk, to lead us away from God. If we let Satan into our minds and thoughts, he could easily convince us to do the wrong thing. If we do not stop him, it could be deadly. But thanks be to our heavenly Father for his tender mercies; we can go to him instantly in prayer to ask for forgiveness. We have an Advocate in time of need.
The giant hogweed produces flowers that look appealing, but one should not get
too near. The sap is toxic to the skin and can cause painful blisters when
exposed to sunlight; these can develop into purplish, blackened scars.
Hospitalization may even be necessary. A drop of its sap in the eyes can cause
temporary, or even permanent, blindness. Thus what might look good and
acceptable in the world might be exceedingly toxic to our spiritual growth. Varieties of Weeds Just as there are so many types of weeds, the same may be said for sin. Paul names some of them: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-22, ASV). Notice the verb “practice.” To practice means to do something over and over until it becomes routine, a habit, a way of life. Paul says we should do everything possible to not do these things! We are to weed them out. Then he lists things we should practice: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk” (Galatians 5:22-25, ASV). Peter added patience and brotherly kindness. He too expressed how important it is for us to practice these things and do them with diligence, because “if ye do these things ye shall never fall” (2 Peter 1:10). Our Hearts—Our Gardens When we decided to consecrate ourselves to the Lord, we realized there is one thing the Lord most desires: “Give me thine heart” (Proverbs 23:26). The heart is the center of our affections, a vital part of our bodies. It is what the Lord searches to determine our true intents. That is why we want to live the words of the psalmist: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23, 24). “Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers” (Psalm 141:4, NIV). We must do everything possible to eradicate any weeds of sin that might spring up, for out of our hearts are the issues of life. We must critically inspect every motive of our life because it is a matter of life or death. It can mean receiving the divine nature on the highest plane of existence, or not. It all depends on our heart condition: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). As Paul wrote, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1, NIV). If our hearts are what our heavenly Father looks at, then we must make sure to keep watch over it. Our hearts are like gardens. Whatever is planted there will grow. It involves our thoughts, our words, and our actions. We must keep out the weeds! Letting just one grow could mean our garden might eventually be overwhelmed with weeds so nothing else could grow. We must take the best care of our gardens, making them more and more in the image of Jesus. That is the kind of garden our heavenly Father desires. He wants to see fruitage growing and maturing in us. He does not want to see something else taking their place.
In addition to weed control, we must also be sure to keep the soil in proper
condition, so that the good seeds take root, get the right nutrients, and bring
forth more fruit. Tools The right tool makes any job go so much easier. To help us fight the weeds of the flesh, the world, and the adversary, we have tools such as the many Bible aids provided by the Lord during this harvest period at the end of the Gospel age. These help nurture and build up the good fruits of the spirit. Because the Lord loves us so much and wants us to be faithful, he gives each of us the necessary experiences to help us grow in the spirit; he amply provides us with many tools. But the responsibility to use them is an individual one. Each one must make his own calling and election sure by working out his own salvation (2 Peter 1:10, Philippians 2:12). No fruit tree instantaneously produces fruit, ready to be harvested. Each goes through many stages of development before it bears ripe fruit. It is the same with us. It takes a lifetime to fully develop and nurture the new creature. Let us submit ourselves fully to the Lord’s will, sacrificing self and its interests along with the world and its influences. If we are successful, we will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant … enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:23). |