Pull a Weed, Plant a Seed

our garden this summer!

If you’ve ever planted a garden, you’re familiar with weeds.  Gardeners know that weeds are stealing precious nutrients from the seed that’s been planted.  Not only are weeds usurping nutrients, they’re also unsightly.  Picture a beautiful lawn and flower bed, it’s pleasing to the eye.  Now picture a yard that’s been over-run with weeds.  It’s not a place on which you want to rest your eyes.

Did you know that there are spiritual weeds?  Spiritual weeds are the beliefs in our hearts that are not true and do not line up with God’s Word.  Let’s look at several bible passages to illustrate this.  Jeremiah 1:1-10 records God’s call on Jeremiah as a prophet.  Verse 10 reads, “See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”  It’s interesting that God tells Jeremiah to uproot, tear down, destroy and overthrow before He tells him to build and to plant.  But it makes sense.  When preparing an area for planting seed, it must first be cleared of whatever is currently there:  weeds, rocks, etc.  They must be uprooted in order for the seed to germinate and grow successfully.

Another passage that deals with this topic is the parable of the sower found in Mark 4:1-20.  Here, we see that the seed sown is the truth from God’s word.  It was sown on four different types of soil, which represents our heart.  The seed that was sown among the thorns gets choked out and eventually dies.  The thorns (weeds) represent a belief system rooted in the cares of this world, rather than God’s truth.  Eventually, if those weeds aren’t pulled, they’ll take over and choke out the truth.  But when we have identified the weeds in our belief system we can replace them with the truth.

Let’s bring this into focus with an example.  I used to have a weed belief that although I was saved by grace, I could gain God’s favor and pleasure by doing good and being good.  This weed became very destructive in my life.  It robbed me of peace and joy.  It was a slippery slope.  At what point had I been good enough and done enough?  Because I had this weed, the truth was getting choked out.  The truth is that Christ Jesus pleased God in every way possible and because I’m in Christ, God is pleased with me too – good works or not!  When the incorruptible seed of truth replaced the weed, it brought me growth and freedom.  Not only that, but spiritually I was more attractive to others, just as a weed-free lawn is more attractive that one that has weeds.

Or maybe you have a weed that goes something like this:  I need to try harder to not lose my temper, be a better wife and mother, eat healthier, or fill in the blank.  The old self-effort trap.  The truth is a place of humility:  I can do all things through Christ (not myself) who strengthens me. Phil 4:13  As the weed belief is uprooted and the truth seed is planted, there will be freedom and beauty.

Pulling weeds and planting seed is a process.  It takes time.  Let’s be patient in the journey and ask God to show us areas in our heart beliefs where we need to do some weed pulling and seed planting.