Do you have weeds in your garden? Most define weeds as the unwanted plants that take up valuable space, water, and nutrients without providing us any benefit. Most gardeners hate weeds and do all they can to remove them as soon as possible. For a long time I shared this sentiment. I worried that Pop Pop Rudy or Pop Pop Bill would show up to my house and find the unwanted plants in my vegetable beds, signifying a lack of commitment to the responsibility of being a gardener. I have used tremendous energy during binge weeding sessions, pulling them until my fingers cramped and hiding them in the woods. Now, I am starting to see weeds a little differently.
Recently I read an article in which the author encouraged his readers to never weed again. Instead, he implored us to harvest nutrients. This is far more than a mere change in perspective. With great wit, he went on to remind us that weeds, if kept from maturing to reproduction stages, are best used to fertilize the very area in which they grew. After all, they are composed of the very nutrients they stole from the exact soil from which they arose. This understanding makes weeds more than an enemy to bid riddance, it makes them fertilizer to be used for a more bountiful harvest! This garden lesson can teach us how to look at some other unwanted things in a different light.
Sin is like a weed that often takes up valuable space in our lives. It grows in our gardens and limits our production of good fruit. As Christians, we often deal with the sin in our garden like me, and Adam and Eve. We try to hide it. In fear of judgment, we do all we can to present weedless lives. In the process, we miss a wonderful opportunity to use it for a more bountiful harvest.
The secret to using sin for gain is confession. God is able to use what the enemy meant for harm for good. Confession takes something deadly and uses it to bring life. If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Satan wants sin to reproduce and lead to death. Forgiven sin in God’s hands, like an uprooted weed, can be used to grow faith and glorify Jesus, displaying His power to save from the penalty, power, and presence of sin.
I leave you with this personal testimony. About 20 years ago, in college, I had a roommate who I desperately wanted to know the love of his creator and savior. I tried everything to get him to receive Christ, even purchasing evangelism books to help gain insight on how I could share the Gospel in a way that he would receive it. This dear friend was always interested, but never believed my Jesus could actually be for him. Finally, over a midnight Papa John’s pizza, I used something I had normally hidden. I used my sin. I confessed to him that in my struggle with lust I had sinned against God, and shared how Jesus remained with me in the battle. Suddenly his face lit up like the sun. He credits my confession as the moment he first believed that Jesus could save a wretch like him. James tells us to confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that we may be healed. Don’t simply remove the weeds, use the dead and alive to help others grow their faith in what God has done, is doing, and will do. Use the weeds!
In Christ,
—Roger Garrison
