Weeds
WEEDS
As I write this, I am able to look out my window and see
part of my neighbors’ house. There is a
planting bed running the full length of their house. I see day lilies and iris plants and then… a
giant crabgrass plant. Oh, the horror, I’m
thinking to myself, the neighbors are attempting to sell that house so that
weed has to go!!! If a potential buyer
sees that weed, they are going to question the desirability of the entire house
and use that as an excuse to offer a much lower price.
Suddenly, I started to think about holy scripture,
especially this:
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36 Then he left the crowds and went
into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the
parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered,
“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the
field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the
weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the
enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the
reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are
collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The
Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all
causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will
throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the
sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
Wow, for thousands of years some plants have been
“demonized” in some places because they were uninvited or unwanted or annoying. They
have been deemed to have no value, yet in other places the same exact plants
are welcomed and serve a real purpose.
If you have ever taken a road trip through our southern
states, you have probably noticed kudzu plants.
They literally blanket all other plants, trees and man-made things like
signs and buildings. Left unchecked,
this plant can be very destructive. However,
in parts of Asia, the same plant has been used for centuries to provide natural
shade and a natural cooling system to buildings and other structures.
It struck me that so often, humans have done the same thing
to other humans. We have deemed some
other humans to be “weeds”, we don’t want anything to do with them, we don’t
want them to live by us, we don’t want them to share any space at all with
us. This us and them mentality must
stop!
I must add a disclaimer here… just as there are some plants
that can cause us harm because they contain toxins, there are some humans who
are toxic and must be avoided because they pose a threat to our well-being.
We may not share points of view, lifestyle choices,
language, looks or any number of things with other people, but we do share
this… We are all God’s children, and in words that I learned many
years ago “God don’t make no junk!”
Deacon Rich
As my wife has reminded me numerous times during our nearly four decades of marriage: God did not place me on this Earth to correct everyone who thinks or does things (the 'weeds") differently than me. That I have to be constantly reminded of this is an indication of how well that messages sinks in.
ReplyDeleteI guess I just have to take comfort in knowing that at the time of the harvest, the weeding will still be done, just not by me.
Nice lesson, Deacon Rich.