Category: Drought

Those Pesky Weeds!

This morning I grabbed some cottage cheese for my breakfast and stepped out to enjoy it on the veranda (also known as our concrete slab back patio). As I sat there enjoying the fresh air and listening to the sounds of nature (not to mention the drone of an airplane and the clanging of a neighbor’s back yard building project), I let my eyes wander around the yard and took in our tastefully-done landscaping.

There was the orange tree, festooned with young green fruit; the row of rose bushes holding on to a few withered petals; and a Lily-of-the-Nile bush resplendent with its purple flowers. The mostly-green grass was the final note in the visual symphony. Yes, a pleasant and harmonious opus of nature before my eyes!

But then, as I focused my vision more closely, there arose a few discordant notes: a prickly, leafy stem sprouting from the middle of the lawn; a medley of unrecognizable leaves spreading across the top of the garden mulch; and some huge plant that looked like a small tree – but which my wife assured me was not planted by us. In other words, we had weeds!

Those pesky weeds! I thought we had eradicated them by a combination of weed-killer, digging, and deft knife-work. We had even laid down weed- barrier fabric along one long strip, but that had not stopped the sprouting of noxious plants. Why are these undesirable plants so robust in spite of drought and all we do to try to remove them and prevent their return? Why do most of the flowers and vegetables we plant, water, and fertilize wither and die, yet these uncultivated little monsters thrive? It’s just not right!

While shaking my head at the prospect of having to crawl around the yard with my knife and trowel (or with a chain saw to remove the previously-mentioned tree-like weed), I began thinking about how sin crops up in our lives, spoiling our peace and introducing harmful “weeds” into  our souls. And with that thought there came remembrance of some biblical teachings about weeds, and the thorns that often accompany them.

Before digging into the comparison of sin to weeds, let’s define what a weed is. One of my teachers once said that a weed is any plant that grows where it is not wanted. Therefore, even an apple tree is a weed if it grows in the middle of a farm field. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a weed is “a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth, especially: one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants.” That part after “especially” is an important point that will help us see the effect of sin as we consider it below.

Why do we have weeds? It is interesting to see the connection between sin and weeds, all the way back to the first humans. In the beginning, God created all plants and pronounced them to be “good” (Genesis 1:11-13). Then, God put his highest creation, man, in a garden of those good plants. God charged the man to cultivate that garden to care for the life-sustaining fruit those plants provided: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). At that point there was no sin, nor any noxious weeds.

But then, Adam and Eve sinned. Part of their punishment was having to deal with weeds in order to eat: God said, “. . . cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field” (Genesis 3:17-18). And thus began the connection between sin and weeds.  

Jesus talked about the symbolism of weeds when it comes to sin and its effect on our lives. In Matthew 13, he told two parables, both of which included weeds as metaphors for sin and sinners. The first parable is known as the Parable of the Sower. In it, he describes a sower who sows seed that falls on various soils. Some of the seeds “fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them” (verse 7). When Jesus explained the meaning of that verse, he said, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” The problems of the sinful world and the sinful desire for wealth above God’s word, act like weeds to choke out what is good and righteous in that person’s life.

The second parable is actually known as the Parable of the Weeds (“tares” in King James language). In it, Jesus contrasted weeds with desirable wheat; at the judgment the wheat (those who are righteous) will be gathered to the Lord, while the weeds (unrepentant sinners) will be cast into the fire. His message was clear: there will be judgment, but leave it to God and his timing (Matthew 13:24-30).

Why are weeds (sins) so hard to remove? As far as botanical weeds go, I have no idea why they are so hard to remove, except for being tough, sometimes spiky, and so quick to spread. And in some cases, they are actually beautiful in appearance, disguising themselves with desirable flowers; I have at times gathered a cluster of dandelions to present to Karen as a bouquet – much cheaper than a dozen roses and almost as pretty!

Come to think of it, sins share some of the same resistant traits as weeds. They grow so strong because the soil they spring from is by nature sinful and unclean. Sins are the product of our very natures, and thus grow strong. They are also, like weeds, prolific: one sin leads to another, and another, until they take over, crowding out the good. After a while we don’t even see them. And just as I have a weakness for dandelions (my wife, not so much), sins can appear attractive to us at first glance. We enjoy our sins and don’t want to root them out. They seduce us with promises of happiness and fulfillment, but in the end destroy us. Like a poisonous mushroom that looks as pretty as an edible one, sins that look good can kill.

Beyond the weed analogy, sins are also so pernicious because there is a spiritual battle raging constantly, in which the devil tempts us to sin with his lies. Whether tempting Eve to eat of forbidden fruit, or tempting us to think and act in forbidden ways, he uses every trick in the book to lead us away from God. In the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus attributed the appearance of weeds in the wheat field as the work of the devil (Matthew 13:39).

What do we do about our weedy sins? The first step is to recognize what is sinful by studying God’s Word. The Ten Commandments are a good place to begin. Second, is to recognize sins as harmful to our spiritual health and future; we must learn to not wink at sin, but to grow to hate it with all our heart as the destroyer of all that is good. Third, we turn the noun “weed” into a verb, and “weed” our garden by digging out our sins by the roots. This can only be done in the power of God, whose Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and drives us to the Cross of Jesus Christ. In Christ we have forgiveness of our sins (spiritual weed-killer!) and a new life no longer in bondage to sin. As Paul wrote, “you are no longer your own; you were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20),and therefore are no longer a slave to sin (Romans 6:15-22). You need not live a weed-choked life; let God, the True Gardener, begin a cleansing work in you. The weeds of sin spoil our ordered lives; it’s time to get rid of them.

And now, I’ve put off attacking those weeds in my yard long enough; time to put down my pen (keyboard) and pick up my knife and trowel, and get to work on those pesky weeds!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Genesis 3; Exodus 20; Matthew 13; Mark 4

A Time of Drought

We are in a time of drought.

For those of us living in California, that’s hardly news. We are experiencing the worst drought in centuries, coming hard on the heels of a string of dry years. Lack of winter snows, followed by a dry spring and summer, have led to arid conditions, which are impacting crops, livestock, wildfires, and soon, everyday water use by millions of people. According to one report,  2021 could be one of the driest years in a millennium, with only half of the normal precipitation so far this year.

There’s not much we can do to end the drought, since its out of our hands. All we can do is try to endure and manage the water we do have, the best we can, and of course, pray for rain. As Psalm 135:7 says, “He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.” So let us pray that he does just that, and brings the rain.

Unfortunately as bad as the lack of water is, there is another kind of drought that is also devastating our land, here and throughout the country, and that is a spiritual drought. People’s spirits have dried up, turned to dust, and blown away in the hot winds of life, leaving people thirsting and seeking relief in the arid sands of drugs, material possessions, and entertainments. In doing so, they are like survivors on a life raft who drink the ocean water, only to become thirstier and thirstier until death overtakes them. The signs are all around us as violence, drug overdoses, and suicides reach epidemic proportions.

What are the causes of this spiritual drought? Certainly the past year and a half of the pandemic and the unrelenting coverage and warnings about it have played a part, but the drought goes much deeper. We have survived epidemics and even wars before, but now the situation seems much worse. What’s to blame?

The primary cause of our spiritual drought – and its horrible consequences in society – is our nation’s general rejection of God. This is not to say that there aren’t numerous believers, because there are. The problem is that we have removed the name of God, and the fear of God, from our public life. Every institution has been stripped  of its God-given responsibilities and moral restrictions. Politicians and public officials, educators and students, judges and corporations, movie stars and sports celebrities, have banished God and sought to operate by their own power and desires. In the words of Judges 17:6, “. . . Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

All people are sinners, and we have all broken God’s commandments in both the spirit and the letter of the law, but in former times we at least recognized the validity of those laws; now we have rejected the very idea of there being a set of God-ordained requirements that should form the basis of society. This change in attitude and behavior has come through a steady encroachment of atheistic forces, but even our churches have played their part, either by compromising with the culture to “fit in” or by retreating from engagement with society into seemingly safe fortresses. The result has been a spiritually dry, drought-blasted nation.

I have been very discouraged about this spiritual drought and its consequences in our society. It seems that every day things get worse and worse, until my well of hope has almost dried up. But then I remember the book of Lamentations, in which Jeremiah looked with sadness upon the destruction of Jerusalem and its beloved Temple by the Babylonians. He lamented the loss, but then by faith was able to proclaim,

           My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

           But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of             the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new             every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:20-24)

Jeremiah put his hope for future restoration, not in what his eyes could see, but in what God promised. Over a century before him, another prophet named Isaiah had given God’s word of promise: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants” (Isaiah 44:3). Note that the greater blessing, even greater than water to a parched land, is God’s Spirit. Later, the Lord spoke through the prophet Hosea (13:5) to remind the people, “It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.” Although so many have rejected him, and though God seems at times so far away, he has not forgotten his people. Instead, he calls us to return to him and receive the blessings he desires to give us, even to shower upon us. Even if it seems that the world around us is suffering spiritual drought and its terrible results, God’s promises still hold true for those individuals who believe in him and trust in him.

Psalm 1:2-3 describes the man (person) who delights in God and his Word: “but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” Jeremiah continues God’s promise of abundant spiritual water: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8).

And how does someone become planted near such abundant spiritual water that refreshes and nourishes his or her spirit? Not by laws or hard work, nor by good deeds or exemplary living, though such actions would improve our society. Those are good things, but are only surface changes and therefore temporary. What it takes for true spiritual blessing is answer the call and promise of Jesus Christ, who  Jesus stood up and cried out, “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”‘ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive” (John 7:37-38).

If you believe in Christ, you have the Holy Spirit, and therefore your own spirit is alive. Water it daily through prayer and the study of God’s Word. Delight in God’s laws and in his promises. And don’t be discouraged; instead, “trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Proverbs 3:5), and worship the One who provides both natural and supernatural water to sustain us now, and through all eternity.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 24:19; Lamentations 3; John 7:37-39; Revelation 7:17.