Pulling Weeds

Trevor stopped working and wiped sweat from his face. Grandpa stopped too. "Gardening is hard work," he said. "Maybe we should take a break and go have some of Grandma's cookies and punch."As they headed to the house, Grandpa pointed to a single row of peas he had planted two weeks earlier. "Taking care of a garden is hard work. Weeds grow easily, don't they?""Yeah," said Trevor. "Why did God make weeds, anyway?""Well, they're the result of sin," said Grandpa. "We have them because we live in a sinful, broken world." He looked at Trevor. "Are there any weeds growing in your life that need to be pulled?""You mean in our yard at home?" Trevor shrugged. "I guess there probably are some."Grandpa smiled and shook his head. "I mean in your life.""In my life? I don't get it," said Trevor. "How would weeds grow in my life?""Not weeds like these," said Grandpa. "Weeds of sin. Farmers need to destroy weeds to keep them from taking over and hurting their crops, and we have to get rid of sinful things in our lives so they don't take over and hurt our relationships with others." Grandpa stooped to pull a tall weed. "For example, I used to let my temper take over whenever I felt angry. I hurt a lot of people's feelings and often caused them to get angry too, and I let anger and bitterness take root in my heart by holding grudges.""Really? I didn't know you had trouble with your temper." Trevor frowned. "I'm not always nice to my sister. Being unkind is like a weed too, isn't it?" Grandpa nodded. "So, how do I pull a weed in my life?" Trevor asked."First you need to confess it to Jesus," Grandpa said. "He will forgive you and help you be the kind of brother He wants you to be. Because you trust in Him, sin has no power over you. Instead, you can live by the Holy Spirit's power and choose to act in a loving way." Grandpa sat down on a bench near the garden. "You may need to ask your sister to forgive you too."Trevor sat down next to him. "That's hard--even harder than asking Jesus to forgive me." He sighed. "But I know you're right." -Gail L. Jenner