SPIRIT BRAND

SPIRITUALITY for the 21st Century

Weeds…every homeowner face them, especially if you are an avid gardener!  Weeds can take over any garden!  They must be maintained.  It becomes a very laborious task for those of us who are weekend gardeners. 

Trying to be an eco-friendly person, I was given an idea for putting a weed barrier in my landscaping project at home.  The idea is to use newspaper that would degrade over a period of time, but long enough to keep the weeds out!  Not true!  It doesn’t work!  It was a worthless idea!

Unfortunately, after several days of laying newspaper and mulch over the landscaping project, it didn’t take long for the weeds to find little crevices, breaks, and open areas for them to ruin my newly finished project.  I tried and tried to keep up!  My efforts looked good for a couple of days, until I forgot to tend to the weeds!  Soon, the weeds were overgrown and drastic measures were needed! 

I needed a different kind of weed barrier!

At the beginning of this spring, I received sound advice to lay fabric landscaping to keep the weeds out!  Fabric landscaping does two basic things: 1) it is porous and allows the soil to breath, 2) and allows the water to penetrate the barrier.  After laying the fabric landscaping, you need to cover it with mulch because sunlight will damage it.  I have followed the advice and am hoping for better results from my previous attempt of containing the weeds!

There are numerous kinds of weeds that can penetrate and grow in our spiritual landscape!  They can take over!  We can try to maintain, but soon enough, we are overcome by forgetfulness, neglect, busyness, and laziness.  The outcome is easy to predict–the weeds win!  How can I keep the weeds from growing in my spiritual landscape?  Is there a spiritual weed barrier I can use? 

Let me offer a few suggestions:

1.  Self-examination.  John Wesley (1703-1791) writes, in A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, “It is good to renew ourselves from time to time, by closely examining the state of our souls, as if we had never done it before, for nothing tends more to the full assurance of faith, than to keep ourselves by this means in humility, and the exercise of all good works…” (p. 110).  Wesley reminds us that examination is vital to faith, humility, and good works.  Self-examination will give a clearer picture of the state of our souls.  We would do well to heed Wesley’s suggestion to renew ourselves from time through the work of self-examination.  David cries, “Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts…” Psalm 139:23

2.  Consecration.  “The Divine law contains a most fitting and well ordered plan for the regulation of our life; yet it has pleased the heavenly Teacher to direct us by a very excellent key principle.  It is the duty of believers to ‘present your bodies a living, sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God’ (Rom. 12:1); this is the only true worship.”  Another man who understood the analogy of weeds, John Calvin (1509-1564) pens these words from Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life.  Presenting ourselves, our spiritual landscape, to God is ordered by God to help us continue to the path of a well-disciplined life.  Consecration is a preventative method that keeps the weeds away!

3.  Prayer.  Martin Luther (1483-1546) says that prayer is a special exercise of faith.  Faith makes the prayer acceptable because it believes that either the prayer will be answered, or that something better will be given instead. (excerpts from Treatise on Good Works)  Luther reminds us that prayer is like the gardener pulling out the weeds in the garden.  Prayer is a special exercise of faith that allows God to move in our lives!  Prayer enables the One who desires more for us than we ourselves to move in our behalf!

My prayer is that we will have a landscape full of the glory of the Majesty, the Master Designer of every landscape!

More later…