The Weeds Were Bad This Year

Psalm 5:4 – For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil shall not sojourn with you. (NRSV)

"The weeds were bad this year," was the general subject of conversation in the country. I could attest to this fact, as I had been pulling weeds out of a strawberry field, which was contaminated, within days, with thick stems, millions of seeds, and stubborn roots deep in the ground.

Offering to help to pull out each offender by hand, I measured the three plus acres with a rake in my hand and the rows as my opponents. I said to myself, "You know, this is going to be a battle," but being a Finlander, I put all my "Sisu" to action, and row by row, one by one, day by day, I hauled the contaminants to a burning place. I felt a certain joy to see them burn.

I connected the most stubborn weeds with deep-down sin, while throwing them through the air. I thought of the ones tangled around the strawberry plants as the most insidious kind of sin, and threw them with a thump to the piles.

The inveterate ones I carried to the trash with the others. People passing by laughed at my effort, and I agree it was pretty futile. While the task seemed impossible, the inverse happened. I looked at my hands' work as a conqueror. Now the cultivating and spraying could begin with more favourable results.

In general, the Bible speaks of the sin of the world. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8) We then know that our own sin is a serious matter and fighting against sin is a must.

How can we fight against sin? Invigorated prayer is our instrument against the insidious darkness that we call sin. Let us take this matter to God in prayer, asking that our sin be revealed to us, so that we might confess it, and ask for forgiveness. Having made our confession, let's not stop there, but rather turn around and start again, hopefully with more favourable results.

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we realize that, if we do not confess our sin, it will continue to grow like an unwanted weed. We acknowledge that we have sinned, and we ask you to forgive us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.