Mowing Those Weeds

Holiday or not, I decided to take advantage of this labor day (in which we are not required to actually labor, but rather relish the blessing of not having to go out into the 'work world') and accomplish a few neglected tasks. You know, I never did figure out why this holiday is named such. I mean, a holiday who's title has work and sweat written all over it (ie. labor) sure doesn't sound like a day-off to me. But, even Mr. Noah Webster defines it as "...a day set aside for special recognition of working people."

Anyway, the first project on the list was mowing the lawn...ahem, weed patch. I lugged that 'ole 6-horse out of the garage, and surprised that it started on the first pull, began pushing it across the lawn. "Ugh...eh...." I didn't remember it being so heavy 2 weeks ago.....am I really this weak?!?! Woops! I must be blonder than I look, because upon closer inspection I realized that I was trying to push a self-propelled mower...it's so much easier if one flips the little handle to make those wheels turn automatically!!

Isn't it interesting that what one does not want to grow, only grows more? I mean, if I had a nice lawn with just grass I'm sure that it would need mowing half as much as it does now...those weeds just grow so fast. I can remember when I first moved into this home, how nice the yard was and how pleasing it looked to the eye with its lush greenness. Sure, there were some weeds growing along the fence and still a few others sticking up across the lawn, but what's a few little ones? I wasn't a bit concerned as I knew that after each mowing these weeds would be leveled with the rest of the grass and no one would realize they were there.

It reminds me of our lives as Christians. We want our lives to reflect Christ and appear as such to others. Yet, what do we do when sin and temptation try to take root? Do we take special care to search the hidden corners and weed out all that is displeasing? Or are we too caught up in keeping the main areas clean...the parts that others see. I must confess that it is all too easy to just "mow down" the sins and shortcomings in my life. No matter how few or how many they are, if I can only manage to hide them amongst the good, surely everything will even out and my life won't look so bad, right? Wrong. Let us never forget for a moment that God Himself searches the innermost parts of our being. (1 Samuel 16:7 "...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.")

I don't know about you, but it's not my preference to use chemical weed killers. Call me lazy, but it's just too much money and time spent for me (right now, anyway). And by looking at my lawn, one can tell that I've never let even a granule fall on its surface.

And so it is with some of our lives. We think it's just too much of a nuisance to get up early and read the Bible, too much hassle to gather with other believers on Sundays, too much work to deny the flesh and the lusts thereof. But tell me this...is it not work to try and live under the title of Christianity while having to give so much care to cover up wrongdoings? The Bible talks about the ways of the trangressor being hard. It's not easy to keep up maintainence on a Christian life when we allow the weeds of this world to creep in and take root. Small as they may be in the beginning, their roots can reach deep.

My dear fellow Christian, let us rejoice that Christ has provided a free "weed killer" for us: His Blood. We must humble ourselves before Him and let His precious blood sweep our soul, making us white as the snow. Oh, the blood of Jesus! Providing hope for the hopeless; a new and living way. This is our Jesus and His love for us! Life is so much more simple when we live it His way. He knows what is best for us.