The Plumbline

  Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8) A crop of weeds - we all have a few weeds, don't we? What we don't want is for those weeds to overgrow what God is planting within us. A crop suggests there has been a gross over-growth of those ugly things in our lives. Planting is important - what gets sown is what gets reaped. Planting in response to what God asks in our lives is of the greatest importance - for this is what produces the harvest we really desire. As we think about ways we allow 'weeds' to be planted in our lives, it really all begins and ends with this idea of selfishness. Ignoring the needs of others - focusing primar...

If you were to look at the yards of my neighbors around me right now, you'd see a massive overgrowth of weeds in more than a few yards. As much as we try to keep our homes free of weeds, they seem to come up. One neighbor who neglects their overgrowth can actually 'support' the growth of those little nuisances in the yards of all the other neighbors! You know, if we stop to think about it, the 'weeds' we tolerate in our spiritual life are equally as 'prolific'. The ones we associate with can actually be affected by their overgrowth in our lives - causing their lives to become 'infested' with those weeds if they aren't quick to notice those seeds drifting their way! Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting ...

Have you ever observed just how easily weeds grow and how terribly much work tending a garden seems to require?  It just does not seem fair at how easily the weeds sprout up all over the place, while coaxing one rose bush to bloom requires dead-heading, careful watering, and regular fertilizing.  A typical lawn may require hundreds of dollars a year just in "weed-preventer" chemicals!  What is up with all these weeds? God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you're ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, " He throws caution to the winds,  giving to the needy in reckless abandon.  His right-living, right-giving ways  never run out, never wear out."   This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in...