Weeds

My daily Bible study today had me reading Matthew 13, which contains quite a few parables related to the Kingdom of God. One of the more well know of these parables is the Parable of the Sower (verses 3-9, 18-23). In this parable, Christ describes 4 sets of seeds.

The first set are sown on hard ground. There is no potential for them to actually get into the soil and grow, so they just sit on the surface and are eaten by birds. The second set are sown in soil which is full of rocks, and they are unable to develop a root system deep enough to survive. The third set is sown in a plot of land full of weeds which keep the growing plants from receiving the nutrients and water they need. The forth and final set of plants is sown on good ground and they produce varying amounts of fruit. As Christ explains to his disciples later on, each of these sets of seeds represents different types of responses to the Word of God in the lives of people.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, frankly it is because my life has been in the weeds lately. I don't know about you, but I think I always had this idea in the back of my mind that the weeds were evil influences, sinful desires which crept in and stole away time from God's Word. What I've been seeing in my life though, is that these weeds can be good, or at least innocent, things. If I were to get down to brass tacks, some of the weeds in my life have included work, school work, Facebook, spending time with friends and reading outside of school for my own enjoyment and edification. Everything on the list (Facebook excepted) is as a rule rather wholesome and a necessary part of living a good life. However, by letting them all overcrowd my day so that I don't have time to study the Bible, they have turned into weeds which ultimately will choke my faith.

As has been pointed out many times before, the good is the enemy of the best. Important, necessary parts of the Christian life can never substitute for its foundation. If we are not going back to the Bible and re-centering our lives on Christ and His Word, our Christian walk will fall apart. At least I know that I can't live the Christian life without Christ's grace and strength.

Praise the Lord though, there is mercy and forgiveness for sinners like myself. The fact that weeds are in the garden doesn't mean that it needs to be given back to the wild. Instead, it means that there is an opportunity to claim ground for Christ and pull them out! So, let's go conquer some weeds!

What about you? Do you see yourself in one of the sets of seeds? What kind of weeds to do you see in your life? What have you found helpful in preventing/pulling out weeds in your life? Feel free to leave a comment and join the conversation!