Yard Work and Heart Work

A couple of years ago, we had a new family move into the house next door. Being the neighborly kind, I went over to meet the new family and introduce myself.

The first thing I did when I met the husband of the family was to apologize for being such a bad neighbor. I let him know that I will keep the yard mowed, but that is the extent of my yard work.

I informed him that I will have many weeds growing. I admitted that I am great at growing crabgrass, dandelions, and clover, but horrible at growing green, luscious, thick grass. I apologized that he will constantly be trying to keep my weeds from invading his yard.

I have learned that actually growing a yard full of grass is hard work. Weeds are not hard work. If you do nothing, weeds grow. Then, the work is merely mowing the weeds. But, growing grass is hard work. Grass food must be spread. Weed killer must be applied. The yard needs to be watered. The grass needs to be mowed on a schedule and to a specific height. All of that is hard work.

Because I really don’t care how my yard looks, I am unwilling to invest the time or the money to do all that work. Instead, I mow weeds and leave it at that.

Whenever you see a nicely manicured yard, you know that someone has done the work necessary to have that lawn. It doesn’t just happen. But, when someone does the work, the proof is in the beauty of the yard. That yard looks different than my yard because someone has invested in it.

God’s work in our lives is similar. The work of Christ in our lives is an internal work that cleans up our heart from the sin that marred us. But, the result of the work of Christ on the inside WILL BE a noticeable difference on the outside.

Our actions do not change so that we will be forgiven. That would be us earning our salvation and the Bible is clear that we cannot do that. But, our actions will change because we have been forgiven and because Jesus has changed us on the inside.

In 1 Peter 2:24-25, God teaches us that Jesus bore our sins on the cross. But, because He has done that, we can die to sin and live for righteousness. Because of what Christ has done for us on the inside, we WILL display the righteousness of Christ on the outside in an ever-increasing measure.

That is not to say that we will be perfect. We will constantly be growing. But, those around us should be noticing the righteousness of Christ more and more in our lives. We should be selfish less and selfless more. We should be hurtful less and loving more. We should be sinning less and obeying more.

Does your life exhibit the work of Christ in you?