Tending the Garden

   Every now and then a common task can serve to heighten our spiritual life.  These events are probably quite rate but are notable when they happen.  I had such an occurrence this morning.

   During my quiet time this morning I read and was contemplating the parable of the weeds among the wheat (see Matthew, chapter 13, verses 24 thru 30).  In this parable a land-owner had sowed good seed yet weeds appeared in the field alongside the wheat.  I had always understood that the parable meant that both good and evil will exist in the world until the final judgement.  At that time the weeds will be burned and the wheat harvested into God’s barn.

   Later in the morning I was doing some yard work.  I was on my knees pulling weeds.  Not something I enjoy, but something that must be done.  As I was doing this another thought about the parable came to me.

   We are God’s garden.  In His garden He sows only the best possible seeds.  Those seeds include faith, love of God and others, hope, charity and all the other traits that God wishes us to develop in our lives.

   Satan sows bad seed alongside the good planted by God.  Those seeds include pride, envy, hatred, lust or even just a self-satisfied, overly confident attitude toward our faith life.  Satan's seeds are anything that detracts from the beauty God wishes for our soul.  These bad seeds, if left alone will grow and may very well overtake the good seeds planted by God within us.  This is of course exactly what Satan desires.

   Looking at the parable in this way made me become aware of a new, deeper understanding of the story.  God does indeed plant good seeds in the Garden of our soul.  Without doubt Satan strews bad seeds among the good, hoping to smother out the good God desires with the evil he urges us toward.  Throughout our life we must work to pull out Satan's seeds while carefully nurturing God's.

   To effectively pull the weeds from our flower or vegetable garden we will need to get on our knees from time to time.  Just so we must be on our knees to pull Satan’s seeds from the garden of our soul.  Sincere repentance and confession of our sins is necessary to effectively weed the garden God has planted in each of us.  So put on your gardening gloves, get on your knees and weed God’s garden.