The Good Qualities of a Weed

All right, so we all hate weeds. They must have some value, although exactly what that would be remains to be seen. However, weeds have some admirable characteristics. Really? Yes. Christians would do well to possess come of these qualities. First, they are opportunistic. You find them everywhere. Even if you just pulled weeds last week, there they are again. You can stare at a solid concrete wall, which joins at a right angle with a sidewalk, which has a curb that you step off into a street. All concrete. No dirt. Yet there will be a weed in the tiniest crack imaginable. How do they do it? They will take advantage of any available spot. Christians should be this opportunistic in reaching the lost.

Second, weeds are tenacious. Once they find a spot, they refuse to let go of it. What happens when you try to pull up one? They leave willingly, right? No, often just the top breaks off while the roots remain. Gardeners may think that weeds are obstinate, but they probably view themselves as steadfast. Anyway, Christians should be that committed (1 Cor. 15:58). When Satan tries to pluck us up, we should remain firmly rooted.

Weeds thrive in any soil and temperature; they are hardy little rascals. Even in times of drought they don hey offthey do not quit. You can always count on them to show up. Too bad they haven’t got anything positive to contribute. But Christians do, and we should likewise be everywhere. We should overcome any bad condition and every hardship so that our faith may flourish.

In the fourth place, weeds multiply rapidly; they are eager to cover ground. When you see a couple of weeds growing somewhere, just wait a few days, and see how many more there are. If Christians could only multiply that fast and that successfully! Perhaps God did give weeds a great commission (Gen. 3:18), which they are fulfilling admirably. How are we doing on ours (Matt. 28:18-20)?

Finally, weeds, if left unattended, will crowd out other plants hat be the salt and light we were intended to be (Matt. 5:13-16) so that we can crowd out sin in the neighborhood, the work place, and in the community. Imagine, what could happen if we were more numerous and in strategic locations. Too often the spiritual weeds (those lost in and committed to sin) are the ones blocking us out. The world needs fewer of them and more of us.