Don't Pass on Grass

This morning during Life Commitments this story [below] came up again in reference to overcoming sin and growing in grace. I shared it last week at Teen Challenge. As it turns out I didn't fully think through the context of telling it in a Drug rehab. So when I got to the part where I said, "Guys, some of you struggle with a particular weed, and you just get frustrated and say, 'I just can't get rid of my weed...'" That was about the time I realized that this illustration had a whole 'nother meaning to these guys. They were kind to me though. They seemed to really identify with it. I did feel bad for the one guy that everyone looked at and made comments to because apparently he couldn't get rid of his weed, and that's how he ended up there in the first place.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Don't Pass on Grass

It has been dry in the great state of Maryland. There's a water ban on that limits the use of sprinlkers, carwashes, etc. And as a happy homeowner, I want of course to have a nice lawn. Actually it's probably a parental thing. I want Sydney to walk in bare feet on our lawn and it be soft as the clouds she walked on before she descended to earth.

Ever since I moved in I've enjoyed working on my lawn, and I've planted grass and tried to get it to grow. I've applied "Weed and Feed" and killed the Dandelions. (meager success) But what I'm after is what my teacher mentioned last week in class. He said, "People worry about getting the weeds out of their lawn. (Sniff) I take a lot of pride in my lawn. It is always 3 to 4 shades darker green than anyone elses in my neighborhood. The secret is not to worry about the weeds, instead work on growing your grass. Grass that is think and healthy will make the environment impossible for weeds to grow in."

But when there's no rain, it's hard to get a nice lawn, so I went and bought a sprinkler. Now, I'm not breaking any laws, I run my sprinkler in the designated hours. And after 2 days I see no improvement, but I'm holding out hope; at least till I get the water bill, and then I may need to resort to spray paint.

So, what if we could draw an application from this little story? In fact, my proffessor did. He summed it up as an illustration of many people's struggle with sin. We spend so much time worrying about getting all the weeds (sins) out of our lives. If perhaps we could take time to invest in doing the good and right things, and making the righteous things in our lives thick and healthy, we would see the sins displaced.

I hope that's an encouragement to you as you GROW.

--Ben