According to the experts, our area has been in a severe drought for almost four years. During the worst of it, only the strongest and hardiest vegetation survived. Where tender shoots of grass once grew, weeds of every variety took over. So, instead of mowing lush, green lawns, folks were busy hacking down weeds.
This season, however, the skies have done more than just promise rain they've delivered it. Some days it's been gentle and steady. Other days, the clouds have turned gunmetal gray, bumping around in the atmosphere causing thunder and lightning, while bursting open and soaking the earth. Now instead of parched ground, our fair town looks like Emerald City. I'm thrilled, except for one thing. The weeds are bigger, healthier and more prolific than ever! I actually believe that if I stood still long enough I would be covered in weeds, unable to move.
I'm sick of these pesky plans that grow where they're not wanted. You have them. They're tenacious. They survive in any environment; they compete with the shrubs you purposely plant, for sunlight, water and mineral nutrients. Some are even more sinister and grow directly on your plants and either weaken or kill them. You can pull them, whack them and try to obliterate them but still they come.
What can I do about my weeds? Should I just give in? Deny their existence? Feed them? Whatever I choose I am sure that to ignore them means my yard will become a chaotic, tangled mess.
Several years ago, agriculturalist in Oregon stumbled upon a new variety they dubbed the "slender false brome, an aggressive, invasive weed known to suppress the growth of native plant species." According to their report, this weed quickly colonized 10,000 acres of forest. It spread so rapidly there were no bare spots left on the forest floor. The state of Oregon would have been foolish not to address this. As foolish as we are not to address, as Hebrews 12:1 says, "the sin that so easily entangles us."
The problem in trying to eradicate the "slender false brome" is that it isn't an ugly weed. The neighborhoods surrounding the forest were unaware that what looked like an unusual type of grass was killing the forest and their yards slowly but surely.
Perhaps today you'll ask the Creator of the perfect garden to reveal the weeds, both obvious and disguised, that are growing in the soil of your soul. As he does, allow him to dig down to the root to remove any trace of the sin that entangles so you will become fully grown in the Lord.
