This plant is evil

When we moved into our house, we had a holly bush on the driveway side of the house. This bush was old and rather large. (There is also a whole row on the other side of the house, along the property line; must be 20 feet high.) I am not a fan of holly bushes. Their leaves are simply green thorns. And when they have been cut off and dried up they become dried up thorns. Truth be told, I hate holly bushes! So I decided to cut it down.

 I don’t have many power tools, so I took a bow saw and started sawing. Man, were those limbs thick! I sawed so much I developed tennis elbow. Hurt for a year. After I cut it down, I dug up the roots and pulled them out of the ground. I wanted this thing gone for good.

Imagine my surprise when, after a few years, I discovered shoots coming up in the very spot I had cut down and dug this thing up! I have to cut these sprouts down several times each year. This plant is evil.


Whoa, that’s kind of harsh. Not for me. For me this plant is a figure of sin. Like sin, it has to be cut down and rooted out. And like sin, if you are not careful and thorough, new sprouts will keep shooting up. Just like the holly, sin gets its roots wrapped all around my heart, and when I cut the visible sprout, there is still some portion of root that after a while sends up another. Ah, can it be rooted out? And if it can, how? is this all my doing? is it all God’s doing?

The answer is, Yes. If I would be free of the holly there is something I must do and something that only God can do.

I need to know and believe
Titus 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

I need to pray
Psalm 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 

I must cleanse myself
2 Corinthians 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 

But this is really the work of God in my heart, only He can dig out this root. And is this not what He promises to do?
Malachi 3:3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. 

He takes a chunk of gold, all mixed and mingled with other rocks, and He purifies it. In the refining process, the rocks are heated until they melt, and the gold is separated from what defiles it. This is all a metaphor, of course, a figure. God doesn’t literally heat my heart to 1,947° F, but He promises to refine, purify, purge, and cleanse my heart, in other words, redeem me from all iniquity. I work on what I can: turn from sin, give it up, and take up God’s ways; God works in my heart to dig up that root. Does this all happen in a moment, or even a day? No. While there is that moment of decision, that moment of surrender, that moment of faith – which they used to call a crisis of faith – this is a process. We enter the promised land by crossing the Jordan, but then there’s war, a war that can only be won by the power of God. And here’s the good news: Israel won that war and I can win this one, through Jesus my redeemer!

raw gold



refined gold



pure gold