During the spring, dandelion weeds can get out of control. I recently heard someone joke that they were confident that their neighbor was spreading dandelion seeds in their yard at night! Though a funny thought, if you caught your neighbor doing something like that to you it wouldn’t be a laughing matter.
Jesus used a similar illustration in another parable saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the weeds also appeared” (Matthew 13:24-26). Here, Jesus explains that Satan and his false teachers have a way of bringing destruction to the seed of faith like an infestation of dandelions. Satan’s lies have been sown dishonorably since the fall into sin in the first garden, Eden. Because of this fall into sin, sinful mankind continues to reap the results of this dishonor against God’s righteous and holy design (see Romans 5:18-19). We continue to live dishonorable lives contrary to God’s name and His commandments. For this dishonor, we will die. This is no laughing matter!
And yet, the Holy Spirit continues to build on the seed illustration through Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. We see life in the midst of death. We see a powerful and healthy vine with many branches in the midst of a world of weeds and dandelions from the Enemy. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15:5). As we are connected to Jesus Christ, the one and only true Vine, we have life in His name and confidence in our resurrection from the dead to eternal life.
By faith, we see our damnable dishonor has been exchanged for His gracious glory. By faith, I trust and believe that though my body dies because of the dishonor of my sin, I have confidence that I been cleansed by the blood of Christ and will be raised from the dead with a new and glorious body to live forever! |
