Weeds of the Heart: Lessons from the Soil
written by Lori Enskaya, FBC-supported missionary’s wife
For the first time in my life, I have a yard…
It is full of weeds…
I naively thought that I could spread “weed and feed” and they would all go away…
I remember how excited I was when a big bag of it went on sale! I put it on my list of things to do for mid-April, after the third mowing—careful to follow the instructions on the back of the bag. I believed the advertising—that it would solve all the problems for my poor, weed-infested yard.
It was like a “magic wand” to get rid of my problem!
I counted each time our son mowed the lawn, and after the third time, I eagerly spread this “magic potion.”
Two days later, it had killed the flowers on the weeds and gave the appearance of a solution.
However, after careful inspection I noticed that it had just killed the top of the weeds, but their insidious roots were still alive!
I decided that I would now pull them up…
I made my plan and started pulling…
In my resolve to get rid of my problem, I rushed ahead and didn’t prepare myself correctly…
I didn’t wear gloves, nor did I wear a hat…
After about an hour, I had massive blisters on my hands and fingers and a good start to a sunburn on my face and neck.
I was sore and defeated.
So I called a family friend who has a beautiful lawn and asked for advice.
He gave me instructions on how to proceed, told me how to prepare, what to buy, and where to start. I must admit, I was not happy to hear about the hard work ahead of me, but inspired by the pictures of his yard, I forged ahead—now prepared for the long and difficult task ahead of me.
As I sat with my gloves, hat, shovel, bucket and began to work, I couldn’t help but draw spiritual parallels.
Jesus so often spoke of seeds, soil, water, and sowing when preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven. My mind went straight to the parable of the sower and the four different kinds of soil in Matthew 13:1-23.
As I pulled weeds and made sure to dig up the roots, I noticed something profound.
The big weeds were the “eyesore”—and yes, they had big roots and were a problem—but the little weeds seemed to be the biggest reason my grass was dying. Their small and shallow root system sent out tenacious tentacles that blocked the sun and stunted or killed my grass.
I thought about God-fearing believers who are earnestly trying to please the Lord but have allowed “small” sins or temptations to overtake them, not realizing how evasive and corrosive these seemingly insignificant behaviors can be to their spiritual walk and relationship with the Savior. They allow these things to block the “sun” of a true relationship with Jesus Christ and a Spirit-filled life.
They end up defeated and “unfruitful.”
As I pulled weeds and noticed how the different types of weeds affected my grass, I started to take a look at my own heart.
Every month, when we remember Jesus’ suffering on the cross and take the Lord’s Supper, we read 1 Corinthians 11.
Verses 28-32 are especially convicting,
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”
Not examining your heart and doing the hard work of discipling yourself to repent and obey leads to a “heart yard” full of weeds that renders one unfruitful, unhappy, and defeated.
I prayed for the Lord to reveal the weeds in my heart to me and asked for forgiveness.
When I asked my friend for advice about my yard, he gave me instructions—I had gone about tackling my problem all wrong, even though I had the best intentions and goals.
Our Lord did not leave us without instructions in life, nor did He leave us alone to tackle the hard work of living a holy, set-apart life for His glory.
- He gave us the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and instruct.
- He left us His Word that literally spells it out for us.
- He gave us the Body of Christ for encouragement and support.
Weeding after it has rained is so much easier. The water makes the soil soft. You can pluck even the most stubborn of weeds with ease.
In a similar way, when we follow God’s instructions, it makes doing the hard work of weeding out sin in our lives easier. Jesus refers to this “spiritual water” as the Holy Spirit in John 7:37-39. If we allow the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word to work in our lives, we can be victorious over even the most stubborn of sin.
“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13:23
We can bear the fruit of righteousness and happiness on this earth and beyond if we will believe and obey. Just like having a beautiful yard and garden takes hard work, so does having an abundant, fruitful life in Christ.
It is so worth it!
It is so rewarding!