How can the life of a born again Christian be described? I remember when I was first born again, the flood of love and life was flowing through my body from my new found salvation. My life had finally found the purpose it had been looking for all along. Oftentimes I wondered in those early days how no one had ever told me about this love and life that was available. Such an amazing and wonderful gift that is readily available should be shouted from every rooftop in the world. I had grown up in a Christian home, most of my family were Christians, and a lot of people in my immediate life were as well. I even considered myself one, if you had asked me if I believed in God and Jesus Christ I would have said absolutely but in reality I was living as lord of my own life. While I may have believed in them, I was acting as if they didn’t exist.
As time has gone on, I have reflected on the people in my past and have come to realize that a lot of them were trying to tell me about God and the saving love of Jesus. I have found letters written to me about God, even my bible has a note from my Mom on the inside cover praying that I would read His word and stay close to God all of my life. In hindsight I began to realize that God had been pursuing me all of my life but I was too stubborn to notice. Every time I look back on my life I can see Gods’ hand in everything I have been through. When I finally stopped trying to control my life and surrendered it all to Him, I was finally able to start my new life with God in command.
That was just the beginning. I wish I could say that every step after that was easy and that no struggles have come my way since but that’s not the case. You see, the life of a Christian who has truly been born again is like a seed. A seed is planted in the Earth in complete darkness. It has never seen light and doesn’t even know it exists. Some seeds spend their entire life inside the ground. Satisfied with the darkness, never to see the light. For others though, the living water that Christ offers (John 4:14) seeps into the ground and is able to penetrate into our hearts(John 7:38). We hear the Good News and begin to realize there is something more, something we knew we had been missing, something greater than us, and we begin to grow.
For some this is the beginning of a new life in Christ. For others it may be a short lived experience. Jesus describes what could happen at this point in his Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed, I won’t go into it here but if you are unfamiliar with this parable you can find it in the first three books of the gospel, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. For the ones that make it to this new beginning and burst forth into the light, with deep roots planted in Christ, they begin to thrive. They are out of the darkness and have seen the light. The light surrounds them. The warmth and life it provides is unlike anything they could have ever known or even dreamed of. Their roots reach deep into the ground and are like a tree planted by the river (Jeremiah 17:8) and just like the woman at the well (John 4:28-29) they want to tell everyone about the light they have found.
Again, I wish I could say that this is how we live the rest of our lives, and some even may, but as we grow and get closer to God there is a foe who is trying to stop us. He wants to pull us back into the ground and back into the darkness. He wants us to believe that the light we had was just our imagination, just a fairytale that someone concocted. This enemy is the devil. He knows his days are numbered and that once Christ returns he will be out of time so he is living everyday like it may be his last. He is trying everything he can to detract us from God. When we are first born again is when we are most susceptible to his attacks. As a tender shoot coming out of the ground we are unaware of the armor that God provides that protects us from these attacks (Ephesians 6:11-17) . We are easily pulled back in and this is why we must rely on God wholeheartedly and not give up. Trust me when I say, it will usually get harder and not easier the closer you get to God but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26) and the more you trust Him the more He can work on your behalf. Surrounding yourself with mature plants can help during these times of growth as well and protect your tender stalk as it grows. Jesus warns us about the enemy and the weeds he plants around us in the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds. Jesus explains to us that the weeds are planted by the devil and that these weeds are the people who belong to this world. The world desperately wants you to go back to living for yourself and this is the struggle that we all face for the rest of our lives.
Even as a mature plant we still struggle with those weeds. Have you ever seen a massive oak tree completely suffocated by a tiny little vine? That vine started out as one tiny little sprout but because it was left unattended and allowed to grow it soon took over the entire tree, blocking the light and causing it to die. These little weeds are not always easy to catch. As we go through this life it can be easy to not even notice those small weeds. Even as an attentive Christian we can fill our minds with the endless “to do” list and other distractions that prevent us from noticing that small weed growing up beside us. Thankfully God is all knowing and ever present. He sees the weeds and knows about them before they are even planted. He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us detect those weeds as well. When the light of your salvation doesn’t seem as bright as it once did it may be time for some weed picking. With God as our gardener, all we have to do is ask him to show us these weeds (the sins in our lives) that are blocking the light. He will open our eyes and show us these things so that we can once again flourish in His light. He may not show them all at once but He will always show you the one that needs the most attention. Anything that blocks the light of Christ is a weed that needs to be addressed.
So we pray to God and ask for help as we navigate this life. We ebb and flow in our walk with Christ as we try to run this race with endurance. Paul, says to strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up (Hebrews 12:1). The life of a Chrisitian is not always easy but the reward is far better than any suffering we may endure here on Earth. If you are feeling far from God it may be time for some gardening. Let God guide you and Jesus be the Lord of your life and His light will shine on you and through you. Live differently my friends and with all glory to God.
