Lesson in the Garden

We just returned from ten days of vacation and are catching up on many things. One of those things is the weeding of our three raised bed gardens. As Squirt helped me to weed, we talked about gardening. And I was blessed to be able to relate some spiritual truths to what we were doing.

We talked about how easy it is to weed when the weeds are very small. But as the weeds get bigger and the roots get stronger it is harder to pull them out. It takes more effort on our part but sometime we can't get the whole root out and it will grow back again to our dismay.

Isn't that just like sin in our lives? When temptations come, if we are quick to flee from them they will not grow in the gardens of our hearts as sin. But what happens when we ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit to flee and instead give in? Then we have begun the growth of sin and the longer we give in to it the greater and deeper the roots become. Even when in our own power we try and cut off the sin, the roots will still lie deep below the surface waiting to regrow. It is only the Master Gardener, our Jesus, that can remove the root of sin and allow us to be weed free. We can never really do it in our own power but only by His Power can we defeat temptation and sin. Just as the garden started out this spring with weed seeds already there, our hearts are born in sin. Through Adam's first sin we are destined to sin and continuing sinning. But through Christ's sacrifice the hidden seeds of sin are destroyed, when we accept Him as our Lord.

If you find yourself battling,then look to the Author of Life and ask Him to cleanse your heart and make you a clean beautiful new creation through His Power working in you. Only then can we truly grow and become the beautiful handy-work that He always intended for us to be.