It was a beautiful day today and I decided to stay outside for awhile to clean out some flower beds. I am by no means a "green thumb", but I thought today I would pretend! It felt good to rake all of the dead leaves and old growth out of the beds and see promises of new growth beginning to break through the ground. As I worked myself around the house, I came to a patch of Creeping Phlox that my husband and I had planted several years ago. This particular patch has a lot of weeds growing in the middle of it. I have noticed the weeds in past years and have tried to pull them out. However, I was always afraid to pull too much because I did not want to disrupt the growth of the Phlox, and let's be totally honest, I never really wanted to put that much effort into it! So, I would pull a little here and a little there, but never got it all out. It is a pain to find the root of the weeds in the middle of the Phlox as they tend to intertwine with each other. So today, since I had nothing better to do, because it was beautiful outside, and because I did not want to spend the day sitting in front of the tv watching a movie-which I new the kids would beg for if we went in, I decided to put forth the effort and try to pull out the weeds.
Like I already mentioned, the weeds were well mixed into the plant. I had to gently lift it to find the weed's roots and untangle them from the plant. It seemed to me that the patch of Phlox with the most weeds in it was not doing as well, as the weeds steal nutrients and moisture from the soil. It was at this point that I felt God speak to my heart.
This flower bed is just like my heart. Planted in my heart are many beautiful things. However, the fertile soil is also very capable of supporting weedy sin. It is easy to overlook the weeds when I first see them. They are little and hard to pull out. And, let's be honest, I don't really want to put that much effort into pulling them out. However, the longer the sin stays, the more intertwined it becomes with the beautiful plants that God is planting there; hindering their growth. It becomes more and more of a pain to unravel it all and it takes a lot of time and patience. It is easy to justify the thoughts, words, and actions that I sometimes use for my own gain. After all, it is not like I am out committing murder or stealing or something like that. These are just small things: unkind words spoken in haste, a judgmental thought, selfish actions, or holding onto unforgiveness. It is easy to sometimes just leave them in my heart instead of taking time to find the root and pull them out before they grow into something big and ugly. The questions I have to ask myself are: am I willing to deal with these seemingly "small" issues in my life right away? Am I willing to take the time to pull them out before they hinder my growth and become so intertwined into my heart that they become a part of me?
I don't want that. I don't want those weeds to hinder me or to become a part of my nature. I want God's nature! I desire to keep growing in the direction of the "Son"; soaking in His rays. I desire to not have sin steal from me the nutrients of His love and the refreshment of His water that never runs dry.
I know I have mentioned this verse in a previous post, but it came back to me today. Hebrews 12:1 "..... let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles . . . " This verse is not meant to condemn us, but to encourage us to rid ourselves of everything that can so easily and quickly intertwine itself into our hearts and souls; hindering our growth in Christ.
What are we allowing to be planted into the garden of our hearts? Are we quick to pull out everything and anything that keeps us from pursuing Jesus with no hindrance? Or do we get lazy sometimes and leave it there to deal with another day?
I am encouraged in this to pull quickly and I encourage you! Don't wait! Take the time to deal with and pull out that sin now. It may take some time and patience and it will most likely hurt. (Dying to ourselves and dealing with our selfish nature is usually a bit painful.) However, the end product, is an unhindered heart, free of distractions, reaping a beautiful life for Him!
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