If I were a writer, and if I were to write a book…I would write a book about weeds. Yes, I know, it’s a strange topic, and people wouldn’t exactly be lining up at bookstores to buy it, but let me explain.
Every time I pull weeds in our yard, I am reminded of something that pertains to life. And sometimes as I’m pulling with a double grip on a prickly, gnarly, deeply rooted stem, a verse from the Bible pops into my head. If Jesus used farming and weeds as parables of life lessons, then I think this is something worth considering. If I’ve ever asked why God created weeds, He seems to answer by means of an analogy. If you think about it, weeds are symbolic of sin.
They’re bad, they’re ugly, and they are destructive. Just like sin in my life.
As I was weeding in the yard last week, I observed some interesting characteristics about these unwanted, uncultivated plants. Take this beauty, for instance.
Not only did it sprout up fast, it shot way up and right out in the open. Like it’s taunting the plants around it, boasting of the ground that it is consuming. Do you know sin like that? It doesn’t care who sees it, it boldly makes itself known to everyone around. There’s no attempt on a person’s part to hide it, in fact, sometimes the sin even defines the person.
Then, in contrast, look at this one:
This perhaps could be even more destructive than the ugly, proud loner weed against the house. This one is going right for the jugular: sinking its roots down where a healthy, fruit-bearing plant is already growing. The weed vies for sunlight and nutrients from the ground, threatening to destroy the tomato plant. I’ve observed some weeds that grow near a young cultivated plant, and it’s hard to distinguish which is which.
Do you see the challenge for parents in this picture? There could be the sin of selfishness growing in my child’s heart, and maybe I unknowingly help it grow by making my child the center of my world…it’s easy to do when kids are small and so doggone cute. Give them whatever they want, make them the center of attention at all times. But before I know it, my child becomes prideful, demanding and inconsiderate of others. That’s not so cute. That’s sin (a weed) consuming my child’s heart. Over time, it shows itself to be the ugly thing that it is.
And the longer a weed is allowed to grow, the more difficult it is to uproot. The roots go deeper, the weed becomes stronger. When it comes to uprooting sin in my life (or in my kids’ lives), there is only so much I can do. I can alter my behavior by discontinuing bad habits (consider the tv shows I watch, the magazines I read, the amount of time I spend on the computer, etc.); but there is only One who can totally free me from the destruction of sin.
Thankfully, when Jesus died, He took on all sin of all kinds. The only way for sin to be uprooted in my life is by trusting in Him; only Jesus Christ can cleanse my heart. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
In contrast, if a person does not admit one’s sin before God and does not confess Jesus as the only means to eternal life, that person is considered an enemy of God. The weeds in the following verses represent people who do not believe and follow Jesus Christ. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:40-42)
Let the lesson brought out from weed-plants motivate you to examine where you stand before God. “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7)
There are so many more great symbols that weeds offer; stay tuned for more.