Each morning, Monday through Friday, my wife and I walk our dog around the block before work. It’s getting to be a little longer walk each day as our friend has gotten older, thirteen years old now, not nearly as spry and bouncy of course, but he still enjoys sniffing his favorite spots to see if any of his neighborhood dog friends have traversed the same path the evening before.
As in everywhere we go together, with our old friend or not, we hold hands, a habit that began nearly the first day we met. A bond between us that occurs no matter our feelings toward each other at the time. It is a good habit to get into, I highly recommend it to all couples, no matter how long they have been together, end especially, no matter the ‘feelings’ they have toward each other during the walk. A bond between a God-fearing, loving husband and wife whose purpose in life is to glorify God in their walk can be an example to others each day, especially when an early morning walk or evening stroll in public shows that love with just a simple holding of hands.
Another thing that occurs on our many walks is conversation. Admittedly, a large part of the speaking is on my part, I tend to ramble on at times, but for the most part my constant joy is speaking of the Lord and His wonderful works, both in our lives, in the world around us and the one to come. My beautiful wife has been blessed with the gift of listening, something, I whole-heartedly admit I lack in. Which brings me to the subject God has laid on my heart.
On our morning walk just a day or so ago, we noticed the neighbor ladies flower bed on the corner up from our house. As usual, each spring she pulls last years weeds, does a little raking, then at the right time, plants some flowers. I am told by my wife that these are perennials, not annuals and do not need to be replanted each year, a fact I forget each year as we walk our well-worn path. As the days and weeks go by, our walk, sometimes in the rain, sometimes in the morning dark, which over time grows into sunlight, the flowers grow. To our amazement though, through no fault of her own, for she is an older women, the weeds grow with the flowers. Slowly at first, though I myself cannot tell the difference, my wife points out to me how the weeds and the flowers are growing together again, an almost tradition for this little part of our morning walk over the years. Our old dog, and I’m sure many of the other neighborhood animals, find this spot important enough to mark, and so we wait a few minutes and look at the flowers trying to grow among the ever growing and sprawling weeds.
It strikes me as an analogy of our walk with our Lord Jesus Christ. For those Christian whose desire is to submit to the will of God and glorify Him whenever and wherever possible, there are opportunities for growth, and to bloom out, as it were, just like those flowers. The thing is those weeds. It is an amazing thing to see bright reds and yellows and so may other colors among so many weeds, so much overgrowth, nearly, it would seem, choking out their beauty, yet still they grow and bloom. No one is cutting back the weeds or even trimming them, they simply grow. To uproot the weeds my wife tells me, at this point, would also kill the flowers, for their roots are so entwined that to kill the one would destroy the other.
So is our walk with the Lord. Those who have truly given their hearts, lives and souls to God have not been immediately translated to be with Him in heaven but are left here on this earth with the weeds growing all around them. The water, His Holy Word, nourishes them, the rich soil they are planted in, His incredible Love, protection and guidance, feeds them each day, and they flourish and bloom. The weeds grow, yet there is no beauty in them, they are alive, but serve no purpose, the roots are entwined around the flowers, yet are not a part of them. The weeds will die out at the end of the growing season, the flowers, being perennials, will return each year, showing forth their beauty over and over again.
As believers in Christ, servants of the Most High God, we are fed by His word and only grow by His incredible Grace. The weeds, the world and those around us that do not have the fear of the Lord within them, will do all they can to choke out our witness, our testimony and out lives in service to Him, yet their roots and leaves only touch our lives, they do not hinder us unless we allow it to happen. We are so close to the world, yet not part of it, that it is only by His mercy that we can continue to grow, to bloom and shine each day in response to His wonderful work in our lives. Every once in a while I will see a weed with a small flower on it and I think, here is an opportunity to witness for our Lord, here is a small shimmer of hope, to tell them about His love for us. There is always hope, my friends, as long as they are breathing, there is hope.
“Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn”. (Matt. 13:30)
Pray for the weeds, pray that that small flower on them that occasionally grows, if only for a moment, will transform the weed to a flower. When you meet the other flowers of the garden, bless them with the love that your Father in heaven has shown you, lift up His name, water them with the blessings of His glorious word, help them to grow and stay strong, no matter how many weeds are around them. Do all that you can and all that they need to ensure that the weeds do not choke out their witness, that the world never has an opportunity to diminish their love for the Lord, ask them to do the same for you. Be there always for each other.