I dug my hands into the dark, soft soil. There was something comforting about having my hands in the dirt, returning to my roots.
I delicately wrapped my fingers around the stems of the weeds and pulled. Small ones, big ones, my eyes scanned the ground for their green heads popping up in places where they didn’t belong. The garden was created to help feed foster families. But these little invaders had come, growing their roots in the same soil, seeking to steal the same nutrients of these life giving plants that were planted with a purpose.
As I squatted and pulled, I began to be hit with truth. I was getting a taste of what the Gardener does in our hearts. Sin is like a weed that comes and chokes out the word of God from bearing fruit in our lives. It makes perfect sense, as the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. These are all things I knew, but what overwhelmed me and radiated in my soul like the sound of a thousand waterfalls was the gentleness and care that was required to properly remove those pesky trespassers. If I haphazardly grabbed the top of the stem and pulled hard, only the surface level stem would break off. The root remained buried in the soil, and if not removed, would grow up again. I had to dig down beneath the surface to get to the root. If we only treat sin as a behavior modification, by only taking care of what is manifested in the open, we aren’t really dealing with it. Jesus said that it’s the heart that matters. If you hate someone in your heart, it’s the same as murdering them. You may not act out in violence against that person, and put on a facade that everything is fine, but the anger is still lurking beneath the surface. It’s only a matter of time until it will burst through the surface of the soil again. And if not removed, it will continue to grow bigger and bigger. The root must be removed. This is accomplished with great care. God gets down on his knees and puts His hands in the dust that we are. He isn’t afraid of getting dirty. He scans the field of our heart to find what doesn’t belong. He searches our hearts, looking for even the tiniest bud. Then He digs in, and pulls. Gently enough to not break off only the stem, but firm enough to remove the root completely from the soil.
Gentle and firm.
The gardens of our heart need to be weeded so that we can produce good fruit in our lives to feed those around us who are foster children under the power of the prince of this world. They don’t yet know their Heavenly Father. They haven’t been adopted yet into the family of God. They need the fruit of the Spirit that is grown in our hearts.
Our Gardener is the one who removes the weeds, but we can aid Him by keeping the soil well watered. Wet soil makes it easier to remove the roots. Dry and hard soil keeps the roots trapped. Water your heart with His living water through the word, prayer, and worship.
Oh Father, thank you for so gently coming in to remove the weeds of sin in my heart with such gentleness. The same hands that formed me in the dust return to the dust to care for me…
The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. Psalm 103:13
