Oh, Those Pesky Weeds! (Matt. 13:24-30)

"The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field" (Matt. 13:24, NASV).

There is just something special about spring time. I love to work in my yard especially the flowerbeds. I feel like God has made me a steward of His beautiful creations! To prepare my flowerbeds for spring planting, I must first pull out and remove all of the unwanted, pesky weeds that seem to overtake the beds. These weeds seem to have not only overtaken the beds, but they have hidden what was once planted there. Weeding can be back-breaking work and at times, I feel that I will never be rid of them. Just when I think I've gotten them all pulled out, a few days later they dare to return! As I pull the weeds, it creates a visual for me of the sin and rotten things that need to pulled by the roots and removed from my life.

This reminds me of the parable that Jesus teaches about the tares, or weeds among the wheat. (Tares are weed pests in grain fields, or bad seed). Jesus explains that the weeds are like the evilness that exists among His people. There will always be pesky or irritating weeds that we must deal with as we strive to live righteously among it all. As we look to the Master Gardner for direction, He will show us the weeds/tares that we must remove from our lives so that we may bloom for Christ. Then we are able to share in the harvest of the good and beautiful things of Jesus for others to glean.

^"You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you" (John 15:16, Amp).

We have been chosen to not only bear fruit for the Lord, but to be Sowers of His seed. (Scripture references for seed sowing can be found in: Matt. 13, Mark 4, Luke 8, and 2 Cor. 9).

May we be workers/gardeners for the Lord. May we remove the weeds (sin) from our lives, and plant or sow righteousness in our lives, so His beauty may be seen by all. Let's get busy weeding out what needs to be removed from our lives and be faithfully obedient to the Lord in all areas of our lives. Go on and garden for the Kingdom, get your hands dirty and get rid of the weeds!

"Let them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First gather the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matt. 13:30, Amp).

Dear heavenly Father, Please help us to live righteously in this sinful world. Guide us in Your ways and help us to remove the unwanted weeds in our lives. Help us to sow heavenly seeds for your kingdom. Thank You for Your precious Son, Jesus, that was a wonderful example and an amazing teacher for us. In His Name, Amen.