Pulling out the weeds

Being proactive and regularly examining our lives, can protect us from a lot of pain.

Last year I cleared and reclaimed a large overgrown garden on the side of my house. The previous owner was quite the gardener and it has taken me 16 years to finally get all parts of the garden cleared planted and mulched. It feels so good to wander through my garden and admire the emerging flowers and foliage and make plans for other combinations. As I walk through, I finding myself stooping to pluck out any new weeds, marvelling how easy it is to keep it weeded with the fresh mulch. For the most part I am able to pluck the small weeds and toss them under a plant.

This is in sharp contrast to the work it took to get there -- hours of shovelling and unearthing large root systems that were overwhelming and choking other plants. I've learned that if I don’t regularly walk through to pick the small weeds, they will quickly take over again, especially right now when there are remainders of some of the old root systems. I know from experience that if I am diligent, I will in time, have much less weeding to do, especially with the mulch on top.

As I weeded, I started to see the parallel to sin -- the harmful, unhealthy dark habits like greed, gossip, and jealousy. Sins, like weeds, creep in. Small at first, working under ground to grow extensive root systems, absorbing precious water and nutrients and soon blocking light from the plants you really want to nurture. One day you notice that a sin has taken over and you don’t even know where to begin.

The good news is that all those sins are forgiven and our slate is wiped clean when we bring Jesus into our life. But, those deep rooted habits often take time and effort to dig out. True, some are uprooted in an instant, but in many cases these habitual sins have woven themselves into all aspects of our lives and take time and work to tease out. But we don't need to do it alone:

[God] takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life of change” (Romans 2 3-7, The Message).

God is continually working on us, changing the old and making sure our hearts stay open and soft. I believe that's what Jesus was doing when he taught us to pray:

Our Father in heaven,…forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:12-13)

I think we are being directed to regularly examine our hearts and habits in prayer. Kind of like walking through the garden regularly and plucking the weeds before they gather strength. Confessing and praying for forgiveness and deliverance daily is a lot more proactive than the difficult, often painful work that comes when sin has been allowed to fester.

Lord, show me how to build in a habit of confession. Make my heart truly sorry and earnestly wanting to change.