Identifying The Weeds by Carol Ford

His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. 
Matthew 13:37-43 (NIV)

When we purchased a different park trailer last fall, I had not considered the challenge of the garden beds that were included. I’m not a gardener, and our last lot only featured grass and moss. So last week, before we went north to our new retreat, I purchase my first pair of gardening gloves in a lovely shade of orange with knobby palms for a better grip, and a container of plant food for healthier blooms. I was ready.

On arrival, I walked around the yard and observed the residue of leaves and the winter effect on the plants. It looked like a lot of work. I found a rake and wheel barrel in the shed and, much to my husband’s amusement, started cleaning up the obvious debris. Once this was done, I was then faced with the difficult task of determining which plants were weeds and which were for show.  I recognized Lily of the Valley from my childhood and those cute little plants were sprouting everywhere, even in the lawn, but for the rest I was at a loss. Weeds can sometimes look quite pretty with small colourful flowers.

My experience with this new hobby, made me think of the above scripture. As Christians we buy resources such as a variety of bibles and devotionals to equip us in our walk with God. We also clean up the obvious sins left over from our old life, but like my garden, when we have to sort out the ‘weeds of sin’ from the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ we don’t always want to do the hard work of removing them. Old habits and temptations are often stronger to uproot.  They also can be pleasant to our senses.

Jesus often used the analogy of seeds, planting and gardening to explain his heavenly kingdom. Someday the weeds will be separated from the good plants and have eternal consequences.

Over the summer I’m going to use my gardening time to consider this truth.

I welcome your comments. You will find more information about me at https://carolfordassociates.wordpress.com/

I have several recorded broadcasts on Careers and Worklife on Hope Stream Radio - Life Under The Sun https://hopestreamradio.com/program/life-under-the-sun/

If you are a writer or speaker, you might like this devotional: https://www.amazon.ca/As-Ink-Flows-Devotions-Christian/dp/0817017674