Life in the Gardens of God: tending to the weeds
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Hebrews 12:14-15
When we moved to Texas from southern Ontario some 40 odd years ago, I was so excited about the prospect of planting a vegetable garden, nurturing gorgeous roses, and harvesting pecans from the tree in my spacious back yard. In Ontario I had managed a small plot of veggies and babied along some hybrid teas, considering the short growing season. Why, you couldn’t plant beans until the 9th of June! Sad to say though, in Tyler my efforts were in vain—the pecans were wormy and tough to crack, black spot got the best of the roses, rhubarb couldn’t stand the heat, the carrots were woody. But oh my, how the weeds did flourish. Since I had assigned weed control to my seven-and-eight-year-olds, they hated that garden. After one season of crop failure, we all quit.
Allowing weeds into your spiritual garden can have the same effect. As an image-bearer in the garden God has presently planted me in, I am to live in peace with all men. Sometimes getting along with me takes a whole lot of wisdom and understanding; sometimes getting along with you does too. Requires both of us to keep up with the weeding, doesn’t it? We need to yank out those bad attitudes by the roots before they poison the peace between us. And yes, sometimes only by God’s grace can we settle our differences. As I am reminded, peace is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). I look to the Spirit for insight whenever I grab my gardening tools for an attitude adjustment.
And to be holy? Now that’s the delicate blossom of image-bearing. In Christ you are justified, sanctified, righteous, pure—you are holy. But does holiness bloom on you? Or do the weeds of the world crowd out the image of Jesus? Consider how crucial it is to be weed free—without holiness no one will see the Lord.
How can anything so difficult be accomplished? By allowing the Master Gardener to tend to you: In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life (James 1:21, MSG). The Word, Jesus, is already in you. Spend time with Him. As the NIV translates James 1:21:humbly accept the word implanted in you. Draw on the Spirit’s insight. The idea is to have everyone who visits your garden see Jesus in your blossoms.
Nancy P
