Take Heed
“But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat
and went away.” (Matthew 13:25)
Hello Saints,
Creeping Charlie, Hairy Bittercress, Crab Grass, Quack Grass, Bind weed, Dog Strangling Vine. ’Tis the season! They’re everywhere! An epidemic! An invasion! They just show up…uninvited! Everywhere you look; everywhere you step! All over the driveway and sidewalk! They can grow anywhere! How? Who? Why? It seems that, according to the experts, with the early Spring heat and abundant rain, and continued high temperatures that the weed population is on the increase, invading properties far and wide. The list of weeds above has menacing names and rightfully so. They are hardy, deep rooted, straggling weeds that are hard to pull and destroy, unless you dig out the roots. Then there are the “nice” weeds with “nice” names that have pretty little flowers like Speedwell, Chickweed, White Clover, Wild Violet, Chicory, Creeping Buttercup, and let’s not forget the edible Dandelion. Don’t let the names fool you, they’re invasive. Some are even poisonous to the touch as a gardener I know found out recently and had a serious reaction in her skin. It’s a bad year for weeds – everyone admits it. But is there a deeper meaning to all of it?
We know that thorns and thistles in the Bible are part of the curse upon planet Earth (Gen. 3:17-18). We also can see that thorns and thistles are part of divine judgment when a people neglect God (Isa. 7:23-25). I do believe that an increase in weeds in the natural is a sign that something is off spiritually. Not necessarily on an individual basis, although each would have to seek God on that matter, but something is off on a larger scale. The world is in chaos! I sense something brooding underground. The “quick, little” war in Iran has turned into a global catastrophe affecting every nation on the planet. Are we not seeing the effects of it here…at the gas pumps? Maybe some of us are oblivious to the spiritual shift in our land, but according to scripture, the weeds are a sign that something is “off”. Just like weeds in our lawn are a sign that our yard needs care and tending, so I believe that God is trying to get us to look at the soil of our heart for care and tending, individually and nationally.
Matthew 13 is a very powerful chapter – two gardening parables with very personal application. In the middle of the telling of the Parable of the Sower and the explanation of it, we find Jesus saying, “That is why I tell these stories, because people see what I do, but they don't really see. They hear what I say, but they don't really hear, and they don't understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: 'You will hear my words, but you will not understand; you will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes-- so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them” (Matthew 13:13-15). Spiritual blindness; spiritual deafness; spiritual apathy! And while we find ourselves asleep in this condition personally, provincially, nationally, and globally, the enemy sows weeds among the wheat (Matt. 13:25). The weeds are choking the life out of the wheat and we don’t even see it. Many diversions, like a global soccer match, take our eyes off of the enemy’s schemes where Prime Ministers and Provincial Ministers march in parades celebrating sin, while the devil plans and plants, going about his evil business choking the wheat with the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches so that we become unfruitful (13:22).
Friends, I sense I need to sound the alarm to stay vigilant. Be in the Word, with your ear attuned to what the Lord is saying. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Let us not be caught unaware of his schemes as he outwits those sleeping in the light (2Cor. 2:11). It’s a season to deal with the weeds in our heart, that have come in where the enemy has access through unforgiveness, offense, and pride. It’s a season to discern the times we are in, listening to the prophets God has raised up to call His people back from the thorny, stony places and walk humbly on the narrow path with our God. God is in control, but we are to seek Him, see that no one leads us astray (Matt 24:4), and obey the ‘rhema’ word of God as Holy Spirit directs. Make time for prayer and especially for hearing what the Spirit is saying to the church. I am sensing that we need to read and heed 1st and 2nd Peter – meditate and let God speak. Put on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18) and remember who we are in Christ – more than conquerors! Stay connected to the body of Christ and submit to each other’s gifts – no lone rangers! Read the letters to the 7 churches for clarity on how to stand and resist the enemy (Rev. 2:1-3:22). Above all, love God and “love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
Grace and Peace
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