Violets

I have a garden full of violets. They look lovely in the spring, when everything is covered with a faint purple haze. The problem is, I have a garden very full of violets. They smother everything. I also have a very heavy clay soil and it makes getting the violets out very hard work. Because, although I love violets, I also need other things in the garden if it is to look balanced. 

Every time I try to weed or thin them out I am reminded of the verse from Hebrews above. If I am to grow spiritually I need a balance of all the fruit of the Spirit, just as my garden needs a balance of different flowers if it is to be healthy. Although the violets grow back again it’s not so difficult to get them out next time because the roots are not so deep. 

I trust that the same applies to my spiritual life – every time I ‘weed out’ some sin, although it tries to creep back, it’s not so difficult to remove it from my life another time, because by the grace of God I am growing towards him. Every time I feed my mind on the ‘whatsoever things’, I am making it harder for sin to grow in me.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me always to grow in the knowledge and love of Christ. Amen