“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Galatians 6:8

Weeds!

Weeds—don’t you just hate them? Who amongst us hasn’t called out the cavalry of life-threatening poison to eradicate the pesky things? Well, I’m sure a few of you have vowed to do it the natural way with good old-fashioned elbow grease—that’s even better!

Years ago, we moved to a new house and decided to sell our lawn mower and never fight another dandelion again; instead of lawn, we planted a lovely groundcover that took literally decades to fill in properly. As the months turned into years of waiting, I decided to help things along a bit and started adding a few other plants in the midst of the groundcover. Not a bad plan, really, except…

One day as I was walking down by the local creek, I spotted some darling little bluish flowers on tall stems. Hmmm… the light bulb clicked on, as I grabbed some of the seedpods. Won’t these look fabulous sown amongst that lethargic ground cover in my front yard, I thought? Oh, yes, what a stupendous plan indeed.

Well, you guessed it; I surely rue the day I ever threw that fist full of seed amongst the groundcover. Not only do these awful weeds spread by seed, but faster than you can blink an eye, they send out runner-type roots that traverse over the TOP of the groundcover. Now, that’s not even fair. I’m literally in the fight of my life.

My sad little tale reminds me of a couple of things; remember Sarah, who grew tired of waiting for the promised child, and took things into her own hands? Ishmael was born to her handmaiden, fathered by her husband Abraham. And it was her idea! Oh, what a tangled web we weave outside of God’s plans! The Lord calls me on my own ways of trying to control situations often. Ouch. My cute little weeds are a grim reminder!

Taking things into our own hands, or sowing to the flesh, will most certainly reap corruption, or some kind of reckoning, as Galatians 6:8 reminds us. But sowing to the Spirit? Now, that’s where peace, joy and everlasting life lie! Praise the Lord!

“Lord, I could ask You to rain down fire on those despicable weeds, but perhaps You would choose to leave them there as a reminder. Whatever You decide, I know You have my best interest at heart. Thank You!”