These past couple of weeks, we have been blessed with ample rain, including over 2” in the past 1-2 days. This has been a change from recent weather, as we received no rain from July 20-August 20 and regular mowing had almost ceased. In preparation for this time of year, I purchased a large bag of grass seed about 2 weeks ago, as I had planned to improve a few parts of the lawn. Well, if I had been able to seed the lawn within a few days of getting the seed, it would have been perfect timing with warm weather and ample moisture to get those guys to germinate and grow, without having to run a sprinkler. Well, hindsight is 20/20 and unfortunately, I did not get the yard seeded as I could have and have to wait a bit for things to dry up in the next week or so. What is your response when you time things just right, or if you miss a perfect opportunity?
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:44-45
Another reason they say to plant grass seed in August to September is because most weeds do not germinate around this time and the grass has less competition to grow. If you have ever had a bare spot in the yard, you know about the only thing that naturally grows there are weeds. You may even get into battles with dandelions, creeping Charlie, or other weeds and wonder how some of these things can be so resilient to withstand being pulled out, sprayed, etc and still come back strong year after year. And if you let it go, it will just take over everything around it. I remember as a kid on the farm, we had a small section of our yard that was basically yellow in the Spring with all the dandelions growing on it. Not the ideal for most folks.
But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:6-8
These two situations reminded me of some of the parable of the sower and the parable of the weeds found in Matthew 13. When Jesus related the parable of the sower, he described a variety of conditions in which the seed lands which either encourage or discourage the seed to grow. You may even look back in your own life and recognize times in your life where these conditions existed and played out as described. If you are like me, you may have even experienced most of these at different times in your life. I recall growing up learning about God, but the Word never really taking root in my heart. I remember when I was first born again and grew tremendously as a Christian, when I was in college, to the degree you would have thought I was a weed. In recent years, the busyness of life seems to choke out new opportunities to grow and be more fruitful, but I hope it is a season that can still be productive, just in a different way or not as much as it once was. Maybe this is not the way it was intended, but it seems to fit how my spiritual growth has been at different times in my life.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
We may look at the lives of those around us and point to some and say ‘look at that’, and say that someone is a good man, or a horrible person, depending on the situation. We may look up to some we know or work with and aspire to be like them in some ways. We may be as quick to condemn others based on what we have heard about them, or a situation we have seen. Before we start to write off certain people as bad weeds, we should ask if they have ever had a chance to grow good seed in their hearts. If others had given up on us, like we do to some, we may not have turned out like we have. Plants grow better when they are cared for by a good gardener, and people do too. Who has been that good gardener in your life? Who are you helping to grow better this week?
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25
Yours in Christ,
Clark
