Matthew 13:1-23

Yesterday, I began preparing my garden for summer and started plucking the weeds from my strawberry bed. As I worked in my garden, pulling up the weeds, the parable of the sower and the seeds came to mind.

The parable tells us of a sower who was planting his seeds. In those days, they planted their seeds by throwing many out at a time. Their hope was that the majority of them would fall on good ground, and many of them did and grew to bear fruit. However, some of the seeds found their way to the wayside, and because they were left exposed, they were devoured by birds. Then, some of the seeds fell on stony places, and even though they quickly sprang up, they also quickly died, because they had no depth of earth. Lastly, some of the seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  Christ went on to explain that the thorns, or weeds, were the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches that grow and choke the word and make us unfruitful Christians.

So many times, I allow the cares of this world to do just that. I allow them to make me an unfruitful Christian. Often, I find myself seeking the deceitful riches of this world, instead of the eternal riches received when I do what Christ has called me to do. Just like weeds, those cares often begin small and seemingly unnoticeable, but then, just as weeds grow quickly, so do those cares. Often, before I know it, those cares start choking my Christian life, and I soon become an unfruitful Christian.

I know some common weeds for me are selfishness, greed, envy, and worry. And oh, how they grow in a hurry. One little sprout soon becomes a huge weed, that hinders me from growing in my relationship with Christ. None of us are without weeds in our lives. Your’s may be different from mine, but I bet you have things in your life that hinder your fruitfulness for God. If you do, pray that God, our Gardener, will come and pluck those weeds from your life. Pray that He will remove those things that are hindering your relationship with Him, and help you grow to be a fruitful Christian!