A farmer went out to sow his seed … Matthew 13:3b

I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or if the grass in our yard is thinning as much as the hair on my aging head, but I recall many thick, lush areas during that first summer, some five years ago and now our once pretty lawn looks more like an unruly weed patch.

As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up … Matthew 13:4

It’s not for lack of trying. We’ve spent countless hours each spring and summer, digging dandelions, spraying chickweed and henbit, rooting out those thorny and obnoxious thistles and I mustn’t omit the huge patches of clover that are relentless. The only reward for my labor seems to be a generous sprinkling of insect bites. Between chiggers, mosquitoes, and ticks, it’s often hard to find an untouched patch of skin. For some reason, they don’t bother Ken as much and I must admit to a tad of envy but, despite all our toil, the weeds are flourishing.

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly … but when the sun came up, the plants were scorched because they had no roots. Matthew 13:5-6 (paraphrased)

Why you might say, are they not building up the turf to choke out the weeds? We’ve tried that too, overseeding areas of established turf to add strength, and generously seeding reclaimed areas. But our efforts have been for naught, and we just haven’t made the leap to contacting a lawn service… we’re still in DIY mode.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Matthew 13:7

I suppose our approach has been something like the dieter, after seeing the number on the scale and saying, “Oh, well, I’ll start tomorrow,” and plunging right into that doughnut on the counter. And in truth, that pretty much sums up life. If we surround ourselves with negative people, we will find our own attitudes becoming negative. If we indulge in too many rich foods, we may not only find our clothing feeling smaller day by day but may also discover health issues creeping into our routine. If we hear bad language everywhere around us, those same words will begin to tumble from our mouths as well. If we follow the crowd that doesn’t appreciate worship, we will eventually, forget worship altogether and our lives just may become a tangle of obnoxious weeds and thorny vines.

We need to provide fertile ground for the positive seeds around us to take root. That means spending time with fellow Christians. It doesn’t mean we exclude those who need our help. Jesus spent a great deal of his time with those who were considered the misfits of his era, those who needed His healing touch or a comforting word. He expects us to extend a loving hand to those in need today. He also wants us to remember “whose” we are. Just one small weed quickly multiplies and becomes an uncontrollable mess. Guard your ground zealously and don’t let weeds take root.

So if your yard needs tending, approach it from a positive angle. Nourish the grass and it will eventually choke out those weeds. Likewise, if your life has become a little thorny, look to the source of all good things, immerse yourself in Godly conversations and then go out where you are needed and provide rich ground for strong turf to emerge.

Still other seed fell on good ground, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:8