HOMESCHOOLED

In the Classroom with God

September 20^th, 2023

See, I’ve been in the classroom lately. With God. And while the lessons have been extremely difficult, excruciatingly painful, exhaustingly real, they also are the purpose of a patient Teacher’s Lesson Plan—extravagantly designed for my good and ultimately His use. And He is (home)schooling me so I may know that He has my best interests strategically in sync with the beat of His heart.

TODAY’S LESSON: GROWING PAINS

Matthew 13:27-30, ‘The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” “An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” “No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.”’ (NIV)

On a recent steamy afternoon, a smattering of nagging weeds begged for my ignorance. But I couldn’t walk on by. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. You know, you can never weed just one! The dirt was perfectly moist, and with very little effort, one after another landed in a strewn trail behind me. It caused me to think some random thoughts:

PRETTY ISN’T always AS PRETTY DOES: Weeds can be deceptive. I needed a horticulturist degree to discern what I was weeding. I pulled what appeared to be a weed, and later realized to my dismay, it was a flower in disguise. Likewise, I have left what ended up being weeds, only to later discover they were taking up real estate, pretending to be something they were not. Like a wolf in sheep clothing, weeds have no purpose or potential, even when they appear to be something they are not. Like this one for instance had the cutest little blossoms attached to it. A weed may want to be something other than what it is, but, at the end of the day, a weed is still a weed is still a weed.

DON’T CHOKE: Weeds choke good growth. It’s like untangling a knot, cautiously extracting the weed which is wrapped around a beautifully blossoming bud. SNUFF IT!

TAKIN’ UP SPACE: Have you ever noticed, there is considerably less prime real estate (good dirt) available where weeds roam? But weed-infested ground doesn’t necessarily mean fertile dirt. It may come as no surprise; weeds can—and do—grow anywhere.

WHAT’S IN YOUR DNA? An apple tree will never grow oranges; just like a weed will never produce a flower, a fruit, a vegetable. I don’t know if a weed is ever asked what it wants to be when it grows up, but even graduating with a degree in Botany, won’t ever make a weed anything other than a weed.

DON’T GROW WHERE YOU ARE NOT PLANTED: Weeds have a nasty habit of growing anywhere—where they are not planted, nor intended. Nor wanted. Hmmm…GROAN!

PRO-CREATE and RAPID REPRODUCTION: Weeds seem to multiply like rabbits. A little rain+alota sun=lotsa weeds.

DOIN’ DIRT IN THE DARK: Is it any wonder that what we don’t want anyone to see us doin’ in the light, we hide in the dark?! Seems some things, like weeds, flourish in the nasty depth of dirt and darkness. It is true, even beautiful flowers come from seeds planted in the ground, but nothing is as dirty, even thorny and irritating and irrational, as a thriving weed.

Then, it dawned on me: Caution! We can be just like weeds! My time of weed-eating encouraged me to reevaluate my growing pains and growth patterns. I first realized how deceptive I can be. I may be able to dress up on the outside what is really ugly and annoying, superficial and persistent, bristly and prickly hidden just beneath the surface. With a thin (or thick) layer of makeup and brand-names, my appearance can cause those I encounter to see something lovely externally but fake internally. We are made in Christ’s image, and therefore, to portray Him, we must be beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.

We can choke out good growth, not only in ourselves, but also in others, by our offensiveness and our intrusive behaviors, unfounded judgments and subjective decisions. We can waste fertile soil and even taint the ground good values are growing in by just taking up space where someone else who has discovered their purpose and is intentional about good growth could be planted.

Stop trying to be something you were never planted to be! We spend so much time and energy copycatting around, playing the blame game, measuring ourselves against everyone else’s yardstick rather than God’s. I cannot produce something God did not put in me to produce. Likewise, only I can do what God purposed for me to do; no one else can fill my role. Or my shoes, for that matter! If God intended me to be wealthy or a world-traveler or have all the material riches some of my friends possess than He would have caused that to happen. There is something rare and perfect and beautiful about contentment, so BLOOM! where you are planted. Not where someone else is planted.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if our good deeds multiplied as fast as bad weeds? Some mornings I go out to water only to find the entire plot of garden space littered with weeds that sprung up overnight. I can pull one and almost immediately see another coming up right behind it. In a world today that is so hampered and hindered by criticism and conflict, anger and agony, resentment and rhetoric, wouldn’t it be wonderful if as soon as an oppression was weeded out, goodwill could abound?

There will come a time—and my guess is very soon, since the dark seems to get darker every day and the dirt dirtier, more evil, cheaper, careless and undisguised—the Light of the World will come to expose all things hidden by the darkness. Jesus will weed out any lie from the truth and every new creation willing to surrender to His pruning will flourish. In these last days, only the branch connected to the one true vine will thrive. I believe that all other sprigs will be plucked out and exterminated.

Jeremiah 17:7-8, ‘But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’ (NIV)

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:

What ‘plots of ground’ in your life are overgrown with ‘weeds’ that are choking out good growth and fertile soil which could benefit from ‘weed-eating’? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ .

What are some good ‘crops’ you would like to plant in the garden of your soul that can thrive?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ .

‘I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing you and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with My eyes as your guide. So, don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make Me tug you and pull you along. Just come with Me!”’ (Psalm 32:8-9, TPT)