Many of us scratch our heads as to how a party for our King can erupt into a frenzied quest to surround ourselves with things in willing exchange for setting God's gift of eternal life back on the shelf year after year. Now, as God's grace pulls us from the pile of yet another year's consumer debris, we teeter to stand once again on our feet in His strength because we must weed, water, and hoe if the life of Jesus in others is ever, to grow. Farming rule number one says that gardens must be weeded continuously to make them productive.
Weeds rob any soil's grow power by crowding out the fruit-bearing plants.
Like gardens, our lives must be kept free of life-choking weeds. Certainly, He would not have called us to such a task without a preventative plan to keep us weed free. As with plants, God has carefully designed our lives to become tasty and colorful ingredients in His salad of salvation, which He serves non-stop to the lost, dying, and hungry of our world. However, if we allow weeds and the trappings of this life to push their way in, our once redeemed and beautiful appearance will quickly lose its appeal to those who hunger for God's truth and love. Yet, if we'll simply invite God's Spirit to root out the life-sapping weeds that strive to entrench themselves deep within our lives, He promises to restore hope, grace, and joy to our life message as He immerses us in living water.