Lessons From the Garden - Part 2: The Lesson of Weeds and Vigilence

The Lesson of Weeds and Vigilance:

            In the last lesson, I mentioned the first two rules of weeding a garden.  Third rule is to avoid allowing particularly virulent weeds even get a start in your garden, as they will create disaster.  We are pretty good with the first two rules on this list, but one failure in our second or third garden out this spot has given us no end of weeding to do.  Several years ago, I allowed a spot of the garden to be planted by a friend, and then did not keep after the weeding.  The result was that morning glories took root.  If you know morning glories, then you may know that they have a long, deep tap-root and spread via their roots.  This is problematic, because you cannot pull out the root once morning glories are established.  In theory, one can dig out the root, but that could take you six feet down (my pastor tried it once), and you might not get the side roots sufficiently.  Herbicides do not even work well on morning glories. Unless you are prepared to tear out everything from your garden that is in the path of the roots, morning glories ought best to be pulled out the best you can and otherwise minimized quickly, lest they strangle out your plants.  The worst of morning glories is that if you are a naïve gardener, they actually put out an attractive, small white flower that makes them seem to be a vine-like garden plant.  If they are in the right place, this would be fine.  In your garden, however, it is a deception you must watch for. 

            This leads to the scenario of sins that root in us very deeply and then permeate throughout, even looking attractive superficially and externally.  Like Satan, who disguises himself as an angel of light, so sin masquerades as a bringer of life and light, when in truth it wants to choke out the life from you.  However, like Cain in Genesis 4, God tells us that we must master it, a task that is wholly beyond our natural ability.  However, He has given us His Spirit and His grace to teach us to deny these sins.  The good news for us is that these deep tap roots and the tentacle like spreading roots can be defeated by the power of God’s Spirit and the working of His grace, but here is the catch.  If I decide that I don’t care enough to remove weeds from my garden, because it is too much work, and so I only half-heartedly pull them out, morning glories will spread like a disease through my garden.  Likewise, in my heart, sin will do the same.  If I don’t desire freedom from sin and pursue that freedom through God’s grace, and by His Spirit’s power, I will not find freedom.  I will be trapped like my garden.

            There is yet another lesson from morning glories that is very significant regarding sin.  We may overcome sin after sin in our lives by God’s grace, and yet if we are honest, we will continue to find areas in which God’s Spirit reveals new sin and hardness in our hearts.  Thus, vigilance is required to continually be on guard against sin in our lives.  Also, sometimes we overcome some sin and live for some time without falling prey to that temptation only to turn one day and realize that we are looking at it again.  This is often how morning glories are.  I have dug out the roots in my garden many times in the spring, only to find that they grown back in from the lawn beside the garden.  You see, we live in a fallen world and we are not a closed system.  We have outside influences upon us, and therefore we must maintain vigilance at all times, continually pull out, digging out, and battling the sin in our life, allowing God’s Spirit to permeate the deepest parts of our lives reveal our hidden sin.  As vigilance is required with morning glories, so vigilance is required in regards to sin.

Lessons From the Garden - Part 1: Weeds and Good Soil

Lessons from the garden:

            Melissa and I are avid gardeners.  Part of our motive for gardening is that we really enjoy working together in the garden, and part of our motive is the fact that a large garden can yield thousands of dollars in produce in a normal year.  Over the years, I have come to see many illustrations of the spiritual life in my work in the garden, and have often discussed them with my wife and others.  While it is certain that others have already written similar ideas (and likely better stated), I will share these insights here as well.

The Lesson of Weeds and Good Soil:

            When you garden, you must deal with the issue of weeds.  Everywhere you turn, your garden will be overtaken by weeds unless you intentionally do something about those weeds. Quack-grass and other grasses seem to grow better in our garden than in the rest of the yard, and indeed, every form of weed, including alfalfa grows better in our garden than outside of it.  This brings me to the first spiritual parallel. 

         Consider the “Parable of the Sower”, as we call it, which could be better called “The Parable of the Soils.”  Each soil represents a heart condition.  Nothing grew in the first soil, being a road of hard-packed dirt.  Though plants sprouted quickly in the second soil, there was no depth in the soil, as bedrock underneath the topsoil did not allow for deep roots.  When plants became too large for the small roots to nourish them, the plant withered and died in the scorching sun.  The third soil seemed to be rich and good, but thorns (and who knows what else could be with the thorns) grew there, chocking out the fruit.  The final soil was good soil, free of “weeds”, if you will, and it yielded wonderful fruit.  However, it would seem that both of the last two scenarios actually had good soil in the strict sense.  However, only one produced fruit.

          So what lesson am I driving at?  Is it that we need to get rid of “weeds” (or thorns and briars, etc.)?  No, it’s not, though we must.  The first lesson is this.  Weeds and crops both like good soil.  Both will grow in it better than in other soil.  God’s word and Satan’s counterfeits will both take root in softened, open, and receptive hearts.  This is a startling thought, but consider the lessons of history.  How often are Christians led astray into captivating sins and destructive teachings.  How many times do New Testament writers, as well as prophets, psalmists, and Moses, instruct us to be diligent to remember the words spoken beforehand by the Lord and to keep His commandments (Deut. 4, 5, 6 etc., Malachi 4, II Peter, Jude, Timothy, Titus, Galatians, etc.)?  Why these commands?  While Satan knows that he cannot truly touch believers born of God (I John 5), He knows that he can choke out the fruit of our lives if we allow so many other things (“weeds”) to crowd out the good plants of the garden.

            Just as weeds love good soil that has been worked and prepared, bad ideas and sinful patterns like a heart that has been worked up, softened, prepared, and made receptive.  If we lack discernment, we are in danger of collecting many spiritual “weeds”, or “thorns” that will choke out the good fruit that God desires to bring in our lives. 

We Just Don't Fit - Part II

Sorry for the month delay.  It's a busy time of year out here!

We Just Don’t Fit – Part II

            So why am I so concerned about this idea about fitting in.  First, over my lifetime, I have observed that we as Christians are easily obsessed with fitting in.  I remember when Christian Rock Music was in its early years, we were all excited about being “cool” and “up to date”.  And so it is that in the world of music, we continue this trend.  The latest rage is Christian hip-hop, spoken word artists, and such.  Now please understand that I’m not saying that this is inherently wrong.  It’s not.  Some of it is simply that these are the cultural forms that these people have grown up with, it is a familiar expression, and so when they become skilled artists, they naturally express themselves in these forms.  That’s great.  What troubles me is our obsession with the idea of being cool, acceptable, and relevant, and music is one illustration.

            In reality, I’m much more concerned with other issues.  Continually, I find myself more convinced that we blindly accept the idolatry of sports, material possessions, entertainment, personal amusement, man’s approval, and more, without even a thought to it.  Over and over again, scripture is abundantly clear that God is a jealous God.  He wants all of us, with no competing loves.

            So how does this relate to not fitting in?  If we truly know the Father and abide in the Father and the Son, then I think we will start to look drastically different.  Will material possessions hold us the same way?  I think not.  Will we care about the Super Bowl?  To be honest, likely we will not nearly as much, unless God has specifically called us to be a Christian witness in the sphere of sports.  On the other hand, we will likely give a lot more, spend a lot less on ourselves, talk about different things, and care a lot about the poor and oppressed. 

            Consider this: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this, to visit widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27).  Or consider this, “Then I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me, says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:6).  These are not isolated verses.  These are major themes of whole books of the Bible, for instance I Corinthians, James, Isaiah, Micah, etc.  Psalm after Psalm deals with justice and purity.  The whole reason that Israel and Judah were judged was because of impurity (idolatry and sexual sins) and injustice by the powerful against the poor and downtrodden.  This may be an oversimplification, but we cannot get around it.

            When it comes down to it, if I’m going to live out scripture, then I will just be different.  I will find myself thinking about things like “Do the people who harvest cocoa get paid fairly?”, or “Who makes my clothes, and how much do they get paid?”, or “Is this really ‘pure, lovely, noble’ entertainment?”  When I start to ask those questions, I end up not fitting in really fast.  I fit in even less when I start talking with other people about what I’m thinking.  Something tells me that if we talked about these things and acted on them, we wouldn’t fit in very well.  But maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

We Just Don’t Fit

            Of late, my wife and I have been working on memorizing I John, a worthwhile, but tricky endeavor, as John tends to use repetition with slight variation as a literary device.  While the device is often very useful in emphasizing a point, it is not nearly as helpful when memorizing the passage.  When we arrived at chapter 3 last week, we came across a very familiar verse.  “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God.”  (3:1).  What a beautiful verse about God’s love and the hope we have.  But there is a problem.  You see, this is not all that the verse says, and the second part is a conclusion based upon the first part.  “Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”  It is this thought that particularly stood out to my wife and I when we started working on that verse.

            It is good and important to know that we are the children of God, but sometimes I worry that we want to have both.  We think that we can be the children of God and still know the world and be known by it.  We want to fit in.  We don’t want to be strangers.  How many of us really want to be the “odd” person in the group?  Many know what it feels like to be the one that consistently does not fit in, but at the same time, we often consume a great deal of time and energy in pursuing the things that are “normal” and help us to fit it, and the reality is that we do it without even realizing that we do this.  In certain ways, we are often unwittingly products of our cultures.

            But why is it that John says that being a child of God and being known by the world are mutually exclusive?  Why can’t these two go together.  Think of the gospel of John 1:10, speaking of Jesus.  “He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and the world did not know Him”.  Think of what Jesus said to His disciples.  “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for a disciples that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.  If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household?” (Matthew 10:24-25).

            I think it appropriate then, if I find that I don’t really fit in, and I find that many actually don’t like me simply because I choose to follow Christ.  I’m not suggesting that I have no responsibility to treat others well or be gracious and kind and humble and gentle in spirit.  Rather, what I’m suggesting is that I should not be surprised if I go completely counter to the way almost everyone around me goes, even many Christians.  I know that sounds offensive to many and at least shocking to others, but think about what Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 7:21).  Our confession of faith must be accompanied by faith lived out in action, and that action ought to make us stand out as a city on a hill or a light on a lampstand or stars in the clear night sky. 

But here is the catch, we won’t stand out if we look just like the world!  “Do not love the world, or the things of the world, … for all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father (whom the world does not know), but is of the world (I John 2:15-16).  So we must be distinct and so embrace the idea that we will not fit in, and perhaps won’t be liked either! 

What Christ's Birth Calls us to Do

        On Christmas Sunday, I (Dan) was asked to fill in at a church that we have a close relationship with, but I never made it there to preach, as most everyone (but me) was sick that morning, and I thought it best to stay home with sick children, especially since the roads were pretty snow covered.  So I decided to post the message here (at least a short version of it).  I'm a few weeks late, but I pray it gives good encouragement of what we are to do in light of Christmas.

        Often when we discuss Christmas, we take time to discuss the miracle, the magnificence, the love, the mercy, the forgiveness, the humility demonstrated, etc.  We are also quite often very good at discussing how Christmas points to the cross - the suffering and death of Christ, which in turn points to His resurrection - our hope.  It dawned on me that I have seldom heard a message on what we are to do in light of Christmas.  It happened this week (the last week of Advent, 2016) as I was considering what I would preach on Sunday at a church in Poplar MT, should the weather permit me to drive there on the 25th.  It turns out that I will not be preaching anyway, as all of my kids and my wife are not feeling well, AND there are likely to be bad roads. 

So here is what occurred to me.  Consider Philippians 2:1-11. 

1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any ^baffection and compassion,

2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

3 Do nothing from ^aselfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;

4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 but ^aemptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.¹

          Most often, we miss the Christmas roots of this passage, and go straight to discussing the self-emptying of Christ and the deity of Christ, which is made clear in both verses 6-7 and 10-11.  However, verse six is preceeded by verse five, which gives us a clear instruction of how we are to live in light of CHRISTMAS, for Christmas is the day when Christ came to earth in great humility to begin His life of humility service, and ultimate sacrifice.  Verse five reads, "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus".

          This is how we are to live in light of Christmas!  We are called by Christ to be like Him.  That is what we are to do!  But what is the attitude?  Humility, letting go of that which was rightfully His, emptying Himself, and becoming an obedient slave of others for their sake!  Christ even died for us in this process.  But don't miss this!  We are called to have this attitude!

          Look back at 3-4.  "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important that yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others"  This is how we live out the calling that Christmas was to bring in our lives!  Yes, He accomplished our salvation.  Yes, He suffered for our gain.  Yes, it's by His grace and mercy.  But remember that He calls us to come follow Him.  How do we do that?  Humility.  Selflessness.  Treat others as more important than ourselves.  Serve them.  Look out for what is in their best interest.

          I think if I am honest, this is always a grave struggle in my life, and likely in yours too.  So I ask us to consider some thoughts?  Whom do I serve?  What sacrifices do I make?  Am I making every effort to maintain the same love, mind, unity of spirit, and purpose with other believers (vs. 2), or am I selfishly seeking what I want, my interests, recognition, and purposes. 

          When was the last time I changed my lifestyle drastically for the sake of others?  I've been considering this particular issue a lot lately.  Christ left heaven for us.  Will I leave the comforts I know and enjoy for the sake of the lost?  I know, I moved across the country to come to where I am, to serve here, but what if God calls for more?  I happen to like where I'm at a lot.  Would I give that up?  Would I empty myself?  Would I be a bond-slave to a people who would reject me, abuse me, and potentially even kill me?  Would I do it in love for them and in obedience, as Christ did for us? 

Don't we see?  Christmas is so much more profound than the celebration of Christ's birth.  It is also the call of Christ on our lives.  "Come, take My yoke upon you and learn from Me."  It is a call to discipleship... to be like Him, who came in such great humility.  What do I need to sacrifice?  How do I need to change my decision making process?  Which things do I NOT do for selfishness?  Which things do I DO for selfishness.  Will I allow the attitude that was in Christ Jesus to grow in me?  How about you?

1 New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Php 2:1–11). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.