Looks Like Wheat to Me...

Is it part of a fairy ring or a noxious fungus?  We do
look at mushrooms in a variety of ways.  

Our lawn is slowly going Oklahoma native.  We don't put any kind of pesticides on our grass and we don't fertilize it either.  And if I am being totally honest, I don't water it either.

I allow the natural rainfall and the dew that likely comes from our neighbors watering to slake the thirst of our lawn. Nature has begun to take its course.

We have some interesting weeds coming up and a great variety of grasses.  This gives the lawn an unkempt uneven look.  If you look at our street, one of these things is not like the other!  As a concession, we do try to keep it short so that it at least looks manicured.

Merriam-Webster defines a weed as

a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially: one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants 

 So weeds are really about perspective.

Jesus told a parable about weeds and wheat.  It is really a story about people.  In the parable, we are told to leave the weeds alone and that God will decide which one is which.  In our zeal to pull up the weeds, wheat can get pulled up right along with it.  What this means is that when we make a strong effort to punish or exclude the "wrong kind of people", innocent people accidentally fall under our wrath.

Interestingly enough, Merriam-Webster also defines a weed as

an obnoxious growth, thing, or person

It really is about perspective.  We are more likely to tolerate obnoxiousness if we know or love the person.  Sometimes it even becomes amusing.  Most of the time it is still boorish but we are more likely to cut them slack.

From a Christian perspective, we wonder how we can extend greater perspective (and thus greater hospitality) to those we encounter.  Not just to those visiting us in the pews (which I would hope that we would be really nice to) but to those outside the church walls as well.

It becomes routine for us to accept the neatly manicured lawns because of expectation or societal norms.  But what if God looks at that weed differently?  What if we look again and see that it really is wheat?

In Christ,

Sam