06/29/2025
I am looking at my life this morning in such a way as to identify those things that are stumbling blocks to my faith. I am asking myself a few simple questions such as... Am I separating myself from the thoughts and temptations that stand between God and me, and is my life focused sufficiently on Jesus such that it is cleansed of those encumbrances to my faith in God?
“And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”
Matthew 5:30 ESV
Sometimes we move forward in faith by doing certain things, like praying for instance, while at other times we do so by letting things go... such as old habits or friends that stifle our faith. In Colossians 3:2-17 we are told to think on virtuous things and to put others behind us. This scripture reads, in part, like this...
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:2-4 ESV
And,
“In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”
Colossians 3:7-8 ESV
So, we are told that there are things we should be doing, such as setting our minds on things above, and that there are things we should let go, like anger and obscene talk.
Before he passed away, I made a garden with my father in law, and as I tilled the ground with his powerful tiller I walked easily behind it and thought ahead to planting the seeds and of all the vegetables we would have... this was the process of doing. Later, as the seeds began to sprout, they were joined by weeds that were growing back from the remnants of many rogue plants that had been left behind. When the weeds appeared, I had to hoe, and to get on my hands and knees to pull each one from the ground. This was the hard work of separating the old residents of the ground from what I now meant to be a beautiful garden. Both had to be done if I was to have a garden and gather the bounty that I had imagined when I first began to till the ground. Our faith is like this too; there are things that we must do as we move forward in faith, like tilling and planting the seeds, but there are also things we must undo to move smoothly ahead like pulling the weeds from our lives. Jesus gives us a powerful metaphor which reinforces this…
“And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”
Matthew 5:30 ESV
Today let’s take stock of where we are in this process. Are we at a place where tilling our garden of faith is in order, or is it time to weed the rows of vegetables? Jesus used the symbolism of cutting off our right hand. This was very powerful in His time because the right hand was thought of as being one's good hand and represented strength and truth. So, when Jesus told them that they might have to cut off their right hand, He was saying that they might have to separate themselves from some of the things they valued, and thought were good and true. We are faced with that same choice today. Are there things we can identify in our own lives that we consider good, and that bring us comfort or happiness, but stand in our way as we follow Jesus?
Sometimes hard choices are required. When I made the garden with my father-in-law I planted several rows of sweet corn. I planted the seeds 3 inches apart, but when they had sprouted and were standing about four or five inches tall, I had to thin them out. I had to pull up perfectly good corn plants so that I only had one plant every foot. This was a painful process. I was pulling up plants I knew were good so that my garden could flourish. Without this, the corn would not produce as it should, and the harvest would be reduced. It was as if I were severing my right hand. Removing something good so that the goal of a bountiful harvest could be reached. And then there were the Black-eyed Susans that lined one side of the garden, but which would encroach on the strawberry plants… they were beautiful flowers but I had to pull many of them up to maintain the boarder.
Are hard choices presenting themselves in your life? They do in mine from time to time! Pulling up weeds is a difficult task, but you know they must go, yet when we must separate ourselves from seemingly good things in order to give ourselves room for growth... it is painful. Pastor's do this when God calls them to a new church, or a different ministry. It isn't the easily identified task of separating themselves from sin, but a rather hard one of serving God in accordance with His will for them. They are leaving good people and beloved circumstances to take the next bold step in their own growth of faith, or to allow those they leave behind more room to grow… to allow a congregation to go further in their journey of faith than his ability to lead them.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 14:15-17 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the vision of this garden we are making together, and I thank you for teaching me to pull the weeds so that my faith will grow. I also thank you for teaching me the importance of separating myself from some things I have come to know as good. Your will for me, and those around me, is perfect and in as much I trust in your wisdom. Ease my pain, Holy Father, as I follow your will and separate myself from those things that are not sinful or bad, but require room to grow as you desire. I realize that once this separation is complete, I will praise you for the result, so help me heal quickly from the wound of the severing and show me the joy of a new beginning and increased faith in you. My hand remains in yours, and my knees feel the cool fresh soil of the garden... Father show me your heart, your will, and the way you would have me go. Praised be your name; for your efforts are tireless as we work this garden together. Holy, Holy, Holy are you my God who leads me through the wilderness for a season so that I can grow in my faith and be taught to speak your Word boldly as Jesus did, and thus repulse Satan’s temptation and the evil that threatens my soul. Holy are you who loves me as you love Jesus, and great are you who teaches me speak truth as my defense and then sends angels to minister to me. Merciful and full of grace are you who comforts me always… even as I prune and weed our garden.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, and Amen!
“But he [Jesus] answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4 ESV
“Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Matthew 4:7 ESV
“Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Matthew 4:10-11 ESV
Rich Forbes