Earlier this morning, after Cubby went down for his first nap, I laced up my tennis shoes, grabbed my gardening gloves and shovel, and marched outside with determination. Those weeds that have been taunting me for weeks are going down...or, being pulled up, rather! I have a hill covered in wild flowers and interspersed throughout are these tall, brightly colored weeds. As I went to work I quickly realized these weeds are rooted. Big time. Like deeper roots than the ground cover. I wanted to cry...so annoying. I grabbed the huge shovel to dig out the roots--and unfortunately pulled some plants up in the process. And as I went along I found myself taking note of the tall, deeply rooted flowers that held their ground and weren't so entangled in the weeds like other flowers. After a couple of hours I felt I had covered the hill pretty thoroughly and had buckets of pulled weeds. But when I stepped back to observe my yard, discouragement came over me--everything looked about the same. I mean, I knew all the work I'd done, but when I looked at other spaces in the yard I saw more weeds and overhanging branches and rocks where there shouldn't be and bark dust where rocks should be...
(Neverending yard work---> overwhelmed)
But, battling my fleshly desire to have a pity party was a quiet, loving voice whispering words of truth throughout this seemingly insignificant, mundane chore. This morning I learned a couple of important and timely spiritual lessons...
~Many of the weeds had flowers making them very attractive, and they were deeply rooted in the soil. The spiritual lesson? I've noticed that there are many people in and out of the church who are attractive and know the Bible well. They seem like picture perfect Christians or perhaps great leaders or even people I just really 'click with', yet they are weeds. And sometimes only the master gardener Jesus Christ knows who the real weeds are. When He comes to the garden to "pull the weeds" out of true churches, I want to be firmly rooted in the soil and not attached to a weed--like so many of the flowers I pulled up in my garden. I'll admit that I've found myself lately starting to see people's opinion of me as more important than God's. Its dangerous stuff--but I was reminded that if I'm reading God's word to me, fighting the hidden sins in my life, and talking to Him throughout the day--all forcing my roots further into the ground-- I trust He will help me to stay firmly planted in Him as various "weeds" (and even other flowers) come and go in my life. It will sometimes be painful but in the end I will be a much stronger, livelier...uh... flower ;)
~And if the last paragraph sounded judgmental, He taught me something about that too ;) When I stood back to observe my hard work and didn't see much of a change, the Lord reminded me of what my attitude should be to fellow Christians. I've been caught (by the Spirit) thinking "why is that person STILL struggling with that sin" or "this person has claimed Christianity for so many years and yet doesn't seem to be growing". Usually in those moments I'm reminded to focus on my own sin issues, but this morning the Spirit graciously reminded me that He IS doing a lot of work in other Christian's lives. He is pulling a lot of weeds and working the soil--all stuff that may be hard to see from the "surface", but legit stuff that is pushing their roots deeper into the soil (just like I see Him doing with me).
So, as I stood on my hill amidst my less that perfect yard, I realized I had two sort of contrasting ways I need to view others in the church. I need to hold my relationships with other Christians loosely, using discernment, and always checking whether or not I'm seeking their approval over God's. At the same time, I need to be less judgmental and more prayerful with everyone--trusting that HE is doing work beneath the surface...
...and after today I'm well aware that pulling "weeds" takes awhile!! I pray the Lord gives me grace to obey these things He has shown me.
