June 9-10 – Weeds

“And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” - Genesis 4:4-7

It was a lovely start to a summer day when I opened the curtains early one morning this week to see the lawn covered in sprinklings of gold and silver – dandelions and daisies. Yes, I know they are weeds. But beautiful weeds. I must confess, I have had a soft spot for daisies from childhood – comes from the contented hours I spent sitting on the lawn making daisy chains. It ocurred to me that the flowers in heaven will really be something to behold if this is our weeds!

Have you seen acres and acres of mustard fields stretching as far as the eye can see? Like rapeseed, the colour is a vivid, intense yellow. A glorious sight, in sunshine or rain. Yet, mustard is a weed. The definition of a weed is:

Noun
1. A valueless plant, growing wild, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury to the desired crop.

2. An undesirable or troublesome plant, especially one that grows profusely where it is not wanted.No matter what the farmer does, there is no getting rid of this undesirable weed. He sprays the yellow plants with weed killer and begins to sow his beloved crop. Soon the weed dies, but it is only gone for a season, because safely nestled into the fertile soil lies the seed that will sprout yet another plant next spring. With that small mustard seed that has been sown, the plant spreads and ensures its existence for yet another year. Andrea Thiele

Yet, Jesus sees the value of this weed when His disciples are questioning Him in the Parable of the Mustard Seed, asking, “why they couldn’t drive out the demon?” Jesus answers with this: “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here, to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).

Beautiful as the weeds appear, where did they come from? How did they get there to reappear year after year? Like bad habits weeds don't just appear out of thin air. They plant themselves and grow. If they're not pulled up when they are small their roots will be deep with tendrils spreading and spreading. If they'd been rooted out from the start the job would have been easier, now it wll be hard work.

The same is true for the weeds of doubt, unbelief, worry, concern or anxiety that grow in our hearts – along with bad habits and 'pleasures' that tempt us – they look good – we dabble, and before we know it we're hooked. . We know they are there, but refuse to pull them up. When we do this we are leaving the weeds unattended to choke our faith. I say, “NO MORE!” Don’t allow weeds to grow in the garden of your heart unchecked. It is allowing doubt, unbelief and the like to grow in our hearts that cause us to waver in our faith in God, until we find ourselves asking “Why can't I cast out the demons?”

God always has been and will continue to be faithful to us and we must be the same toward Him. Hold on to your profession of faith! Take inventory of the garden of your heart and quickly pull any weeds you find trying to grow there. You will be glad you did!

Our music today is “Sow Mercy” - Gaither Vocal Band. Click on the picture to listen.