Weeds Take Over

In 1978 I began teaching at Berean Academy.  I had the summers off and did construction to pay the bills.  I actually made more money in the summer than the winter, but teaching was much more rewarding.  One summer Kathy and I lived with my parents in Maryland and I worked with my two brothers laying brick (They were the “brick layers” and I was the “helper”).  When Kathy and I got home in August our garden was overtaken with weeds.  It looked like a horror movie set.  The vegetables were thin and scrawny with tiny fruit, but the weeds were growing great.  Not only had the weeds grown taller than the vegetables, the weed roots had crowded out the vegetable roots.  I tried to pull weeds and recover what I could, but it was useless.  When I pulled out a weed, its roots pulled out vegetable roots with the weed.  I gave up and mowed it all down, weeds and vegetables alike.  Hey, do bad habits and sin take over in your life like the weeds in my garden?  If left alone, your life will grow wild with evil thoughts and selfish actions.  Neglect of God’s Word, neglect of prayer, and lack of church attendance allows laziness and careless behavior to take over.  When you try to reform, these bad habits are entrenched and hard to overcome.  Their roots go deep into your soul and won’t let go without a fight.  Without the power of God the Holy Spirit, you could never recover.  The writer of Hebrews reminds us to be diligent in Hebrews 12:15, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”  We must tenderly nourish and protect God’s grace upon our lives.  Don’t let Satan sow weeds of evil in your soul sending roots deep into your spirit.  They’re hard to get out.  Keep the garden of your life clean and let it be fruitful.  You’ll be glad that you did.