Sometimes You Need the Weeds

I would like to talk about weeds, but not in the way that Jesus talks about the weeds in the parable of the weeds, but with a new spin.  A while back someone said, “Sometimes we need the weeds,” which got me to thinking.  What is a weed? One definition of weed is: A wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants. Another definition for weed is a plant considered by the user to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings.  However I want to use it this way; a weed is a plant in an undesired place.  Because in this term it is a plant not necessarily, a poisonous plant just one that is undesired.

In John 15: 1-2 the scripture reads, ¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

This then made me think about who the gardener is and what is the gardener’s job.  It is the gardener’s job to plant, water, tend to, de-weed and eventually harvest.

Ok, so if I am thinking of myself in this manner, I then started thinking what are my fruits and how did they start?  I thought of the fruits of the spirit and I know that they did not begin by themselves or perfectly. For when I was young to the faith I was prideful with my works, but I was doing them.  I tended to tell the truth for manipulation instead to the glory of God.  I had tolerance instead of love for my neighbor, and believe it or not I was even more sarcastic than I am now.  These however were my weeds or my growing edges of the fruit of the spirit.  So, without them the fruit themselves could not grow, and become strengths instead of growing edges.  For I believe my fruits were a by-product of my faith and at first they were being done because that was what was expected of me, not because of my faith.  However, as my faith grew so did my fruits, and they got bigger.  It was through tolerance that the true love for my neighbor grew.  It was through that tolerance, that I was able to see the value of the child of God standing in front of me, instead of the assumptions that I could make about my neighbor or even myself.

If the weeds were pulled up, then the growth of the fruit might be damaged.  The roots would have become weak.  It was through the CPE process I discovered that things I would have thought of as weeds had served me for years, supporting me, and keeping me safe.  I also learned not to call these things weeds or weaknesses, I learned to call them growing edges.  We all have them, and I believe we always will because we will not be perfect this side of eternity.  The only way we will truly be perfect is through Christ and I believe that is the only way.

It is through the CPE process that I have figured out that I cannot be perfect.  I don’t expect it out of others, yet I expect it out of myself.  The person I was not telling the truth to in love, the person I was being unjustly sarcastic with the most, the person I was not tolerating the most, was myself.  It is through this wonderful process that Christ’s fruits have been allowed to grow.  The weeds are still there and are not for me to prune out.  The harvest is up to the gardener, the Father.  He will separate the weeds from the fruit.  For I believe it is only through Christ that I even have fruit. For in John 15:16 the scripture says, John 15:16, ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.

Through the CPE process I have come to some wonderful conclusions, for I believe whole heartedly now that I am forgiven for the weeds in my life. I am forgiven for the imperfections, or my undesirable ways.  So I know now without a doubt that during the harvest, God the Father in heaven will not see my weeds, He will see only my fruits, from Christ.  For we have been promised that through our faith, which is a gift from God, that the Father will only see the fruit or Christ when he sees us, not the weeds.  It is Christ’s sacrifice for you and me, through his death and resurrection on the cross that your relationship, my relationship, our relationship with the Father is repaired, and God loves His lovely fruit.