A man who moved into a new house, and undertook to make a lawn out of the uncultivated ground adjoining it, might be fairly well satisfied when he had removed the stones, filled in the holes, and carefully mewed the assortment of plants which quickly filled it. A casual glance would give the impression of green covering and neatness, but a closer inspection would reveal that what looked like grass was, in reality, cut green weeds.
When in need of cutting, wild flowers would bloom here and there and he might enjoy seeing daisies, buttercups, black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne’s lace, even if he deplored the dandelions, nettles and less attractive plants.
A visitor, who knew something about gardening, would quickly see the difference between this lawn and one planted with grass and free from weeds.
So it is with our lives. What looks like goodness to our untrained eyes, most probably has no more relation to real righteousness in the sight of God than the makeshift lawn which appeared passable to the man who made it.
To improve the piece of ground, it would be necessary to uproot practically everything there. Some of the wild flowers might be transplanted to a suitable flower bed, but the rest would have to go.
Much hard work would be required, and much energy expended and that would be a good beginning and very necessary, but if nothing else were done the result would still not be a lawn, but only a piece of bare ground which would soon revert to its former condition.
The same situation exists for us. Our lives may present a very passable appearance, but a careful look will show that many weeds and useless plants flourish in our garden. These must be carefully and continually rooted out, but let us not stop there. Let us not be overcome of evil, but let us overcome evil with good.
If we root out the evil and useless things in our lives, and do not replace them with good things, we will be in the same position as the man spoken of in Matthew 12: 43-45.
“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out ; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there : and the last state of the man is worse than the first.”
We may be very careful not to do anything wrong, but if we do not be equally careful to do what we are commanded to do, we will find we have done nothing, and our reward will be commensurate with our effort.
In Ephesians 4:28, this is plainly illustrated. “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”
Nebuchadnezzar was given the same instruction when he was told to “break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor.” (Daniel 4:27)
When Paul’s persecution of the believers of Christ was interrupted by his conversion on the road to Damascus, his first question, after identifying the voice which spoke to him was, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?” Subsequent instructions effected a complete about face and he was to become a fervent advocate of all the things he had previously fought against. It was not sufficient for him to stop his persecution of the believers, he put his every effort into teaching and preaching just the opposite. His new attitude is well illustrated in the words of Philippians 1 :21 where he says, “For me to live is Christ.”
Jesus said, “Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I have commanded you” (John 15:14) and “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) These are positive commandments entailing action, for it is impossible to love our neighbor as ourselves if we sit idly by in his hour of need, not harming him, but not lifting a finger to help. It is not enough to say “be ye warmed and filled” if we provide nothing to accomplish this desirable result. “Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” (Matthew 7:12)
If we truly do for our neighbor the things we would like to have done to us, we will be kept busy. We are grateful for the knowledge of the truth. We must, therefore, be sure our neighbor is offered the same opportunity. We need the material things of life for our daily sustenance — so does he. We dislike being lonely and appreciate friendly concern when ill or worried; so does he. All the things we find pleasant or necessary are most probably things our neighbor appreciates too, and to treat him as we would like to be treated will provide much work.
We must certainly respect the “Thou shalt nots” but let us be sure we have done all the “Thou Shalts” first and the negative side will very nearly take care of itself.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One