Sin, the Weed of the Soul!
I have just returned from a family vacation! I was only gone a few days and
upon my return; I found that at my home and around the building where the
saints meet, the weeds have attacked the grounds of both!
I am cognizant that weeds are a reminder of the sin of man, his fall, and
subsequently having to toil for our food (Genesis
3:17-19). Yet, I am constantly amazed at the power of weeds. How
they continue to regenerate without water. They sprout up where there is
virtually no soil for them to grow or gain a foothold. Even as I attack them
back and spray them with poison to kill them, they still return in time.
These facts have painfully reminded me that these weeds are also symbolic of
the power of sin in the lives of the children of God.
James tells us that these weeds of the soul are born in the desires of our
hearts, and when those desires are conceived, they lead to the full grown
weed of sin, note:
James 1:14-15
“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and
enticed.
15
Then, when
desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
brings forth death.”
John tells
us that sin is lawlessness! Literally un-kept, un-cultivated, without the
order of labor towards that which God has established, note:
1 John 3:4
“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”
John also
tells that if we think we are beyond the power of these weeds (sin), we have
been deceived by their power and are without the knowledge of the truth of
God’s righteousness, note:
1 John 1:8
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us.”
Brethren, one area where weeds and sin diverge from one another in
similarity, is that starting tomorrow I can get out and catch up in the
weeding and remove them, till the next batch comes. The weeds of the soul;
however, are those that require daily maintenance! They cannot be ignored
for extended periods of time due to the depth of the roots in our existence
they can establish; and in that day we may even find that we defend their
existence in the gardens of our lives.
The Apostle Paul was aware of the power of the sinful weeds of the soul, and
encouraged the Christians in Corinth to tend to the weeds in their run
(lives), the same way he did, note:
1 Corinthians 9:27
“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I
have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
To the Christians of the churches of Galatia, he said:
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
To the Christians at Philippi, he wrote:
Philippians 3:8
“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ”
Brethren,
each and every one of us must tend daily our own weeds of the soul. Do not
allow them full root, or the ability to choke off the truth of God’s word as
your guide for all things!
Hebrews 12:1-2
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily
ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us,
2
looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Have You Pulled the Weeds Today?