Weedless Sanctuary

There’s something satisfying about watching a jungle of a yard mowed and trimmed and edged until all the disorder is made, neat even if only for a time. That is because if not maintained, the lawn will grow grass high enough one has to wade through and thick enough it will cover or hide toys, flowerpots, and other bits left laying around. Bushes and trees will get scraggly. Leaves and dirt will compost and make soil thick enough to cover up patios, sidewalks, and driveways. Ivy and other vines will wrap around whatever they can cling to and even wind themselves through siding and shingles into structures. A neighbor experienced this when a vine put forth leaves into their bedroom decorating the wall. The beauty of the vine on the side of their house had lost its attraction.

It takes consistent, persistent maintenance to have a yard that is neat and sweet. It takes hard work to have a lawn that’s a sanctuary to retreat to and enjoy. Without someone’s hard work, the jungle takes over, sort of like the tomato plants in our garden. And not only that, but critters also move it to make it their home. The ivy around several trees at my in-laws had become so overwhelming that when it was finally trimmed, mouse after mouse burst from their hiding places. Mouse after mouse after mouse! We lost count as the brush was cleared.

This brought to my mind the parable Jesus told in Matthew 12:43-45 of the demon returning to the cleaned house and reoccupying it. The house was cleaned but that wasn’t enough.

Just like it’s not enough to one-time clean our yard or our house and be satisfied. It takes frequent, continuous work to maintain that state. Author Ron Graham wrote, “We learn the lesson from this parable that, when we get rid of evil, we must fill the void with good, otherwise the evil will come back with a vengeance. It is like weeding a garden but neglecting to fill it with good plants and leaving the ground bare. Many more weeds will soon infest the soil than you removed.”

Therefore, to have a satisfying walk with Jesus, one that has order, one that is sweet, one that is keeping out the weeds and critters of life, we must be willing to do the work it takes. We have to willingly fill our lives with the work of worship, prayer, and digging into God’s Word, which will affect our walk of faith and make our witness be one that reflects the joy of the Lord as our strength. That will make our lives a sanctuary and draw others to Jesus.

This is exactly what the life of every Jesus follower should look like. We are meant to be weedless sanctuaries filled up with the Presence of the Lord.

And, oh dear, that brought to mind Jesus using a whip to clean up the Temple in Jerusalem—twice! His desire is for us to be sanctuaries cleansed from the world and ones that honor Him. I think that means much of the work that Paul wrote of in Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT).

So, dear friends, let us work hard to show the results of our salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. In the Name above all names, Jesus, may it be so!