Spring Clean-Up 1—Getting Rid of Weeds in Our Soul Garden

There’s always lots of clean-up of the yard to do in the spring.

Digging the early weeds to keep them from spreading

Removal of dead leaves and other debris

Pruning things before they leaf out too much

All of them have to do with death and new life.

If you stop and think about it, Christianity is all about the death of Christ that made new Life in Him possible. Our gardens provide us with a beautiful picture of what new life is like.

So, as part of my annual spring clean-up, I identify the weeds both in my lawn and in my garden. Getting them out before they spread or become hidden among the other plants will be particularly important.

How good are you at identifying the weeds in your life?

Some are easy to spot.  Others, less so.

When you find them, do you just overlook them, live and let live, or do you do the tedious and nasty work of digging them out?

What might be some weeds in your Soul Garden? What do these Scripture say about weeds that might be present in your soul or in your church?

• Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
• Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
• Matthew 18:9 “And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery hell.
• James 3:10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.