weed removal

​How quickly weeds grow! Recently, while working in a flower bed, I noticed that weeding in areas where there were no plants or flowers was not nearly as difficult as working under and around the plants. When weeding a creeping phlox, I had to lift the plant to get to the roots of the weeds. Some of the more firmly entrenched weeds required a tool to remove them.

As I worked, I thought about how ministers, evangelists, and teachers work hard to remove the spiritual weeds in our lives. It often takes a skilled, loving pastor who knows his people to remove the weeds under and close to the plants. Just as weeding might require moving the plants around and loosening the soil for the coming rain, often preaching can make people feel uncomfortable. Are there times when pastors make decisions or preach something that we do not like? Some have said, "He's getting in my sandbox." Or perhaps we could say, "He's working in my flowerbeds."

There might some firmly entrenched weeds that need a removal tool. The pastor might feel impressed to call for a revival. The "plants" (the congregation) find that their schedules have to be rearranged. This can be inconvenient. However, a week or two of continual preaching pokes, prods, and begins to remove some of those stubborn weeds. While the "plant" (our flesh) does not enjoy the weeding process, God knows that it is vital!
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God promised to give us "pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding" (Jeremiah 3:15). Today's verse admonishes pastors to "take heed ... to the flock." Just as skilled shepherds care for their sheep and seasoned gardeners care for the plants in their garden, God's pastors are ever watching and weeding out the things that (if allowed to grow) will choke out the lives of the people. What a blessing to have a God-called pastor!

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
—1 Timothy 5:17