Ministry

I arrived home late on Sunday night. The lights were off, and there was no movement in the house. As I moved closer toward the kitchen, I could hear faint noises coming from my backyard. Wondering if it was a possum, or a gust of wind, I opened the back door to find my house mate pruning a bush in our backyard. 

To set the scene, it was 10pm on a Sunday night, freezing wind was blowing through the yard and Adelaide winter rain was settling in. 

Of course, I asked her why she thought it would be a good idea to prune bushes at this time, and she responded by saying, 'I bought new pruners and needed to try them out!' 

Confused, but not surprised, I asked some more questions. She went on to explain that if it weren’t for all the weeds choking the tree, the bush would have been blossoming with flowers.

It got me thinking about a parable Jesus tells in Matthew 13 about a farmer sowing seed. Jesus explains that he sows the word of God into people’s lives, but for some, the anxieties and worries of life choke the truth of God’s word. Much like the tree in our backyard, the weeds sprung up and choked the tree so that it couldn’t bear fruit.

I ask you, are you allowing the anxieties of life to choke your peace? Are you letting your worry and stress choke your joy? Are you allowing the pressure to achieve, and the fear of not having enough choke your contentment?

How might you prune the weeds in your life so that you can blossom as a life-giving, fruit-bearing, flourishing tree?

Emma Beames

Ministry Assistant