Issue 658 – Puffballs – February 17, 2022
Last week, when Kathy and I visited White Rock, we saw the first floral bloom of spring. Tucked away in a warm and sunny spot was a bright spot of yellow, a dandelion in full bloom. Not everyone’s favourite flower, to be sure, but a blossom nonetheless.
As I recalled that flower this morning, my mind drifted back to when I was a child. When the dandelions went to seed, we called them puffballs and delighted to blow the seeds into the wind and watch them dance along in the air. I still like dandelions and puffballs, but I live in a culture that prides itself on its well-manicured lawns.
Most people consider dandelions noxious weeds and would have a fit if someone blew a puffball in the direction of their lawn. That is slowly changing as our culture adapts to being more bee-friendly.
Temptation is like the puffball seeds; it can look beautiful. Temptation blows around us all the time. As long as it’s just blowing around and we don’t let it settle, it can’t harm us.
Like the dandelion seed, it becomes a problem if we let it settle and begin to take root. It becomes a seed of sin, a kernel of discontentment waiting to sprout. Once it sprouts, it can quickly become very deeply rooted.
The step between temptation and sin is where the seed settles and sprouts. Merely being tempted is not a sin. Letting that temptation grow and deciding to act in rebellion is a sin. Sin is a choice. We can choose to give in to temptation, or we can choose to reject it.
Sometimes it is a long process between temptation and sin. We’re tempted repeatedly as Satan probes for a weak spot. Sometimes it seems a rapid process, particularly when repeated sin hardened our hearts.
The truth is that even a “spontaneous, out of character” sin is a response to some fertile ground that the seed settled in on. We might believe we could never do “that,” but our hearts were fertile ground, and our sin came from within.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:13-15
We cannot blame anyone else for our sin. No one can make us sin. Even when we sin in response to someone else’s actions, the responsibility is ours.
That is an unpopular teaching today. We live in a world that goes all out to blame others for everything wrong and take credit for everything good. When we acknowledge our responsibility for our sin, we must deal with it and make changes.
That is tough to do. When sin raises its ugly head, we need to turn to Christ in repentance and submission. Ultimately all sin is against God, so we must be forgiven by Him.
We are blessed with a Saviour that forgives, but we must vigilantly guard against the temptation the enemy will throw against us to impair our witness and the closeness of our relationship with God.
In response to Satan’s attack, we need to resist him, root out the seeds of rebellion that sit in our minds, and take our sin to the Lord.
Until next time, may the seed of sin not settle on you and set root.
I’m still looking for reader photos that have a Gleanings in them. Please send it to me if you have something that might fit that bill. I cannot guarantee that I will use every photo, but you never know.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed.
Kevin.
Gleanings From The Word.
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone.)
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All contents are © 2001, 2022 K. F. “Kevin” Corbin and Gleanings From The Word.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV). Spelling modified to Canadian English as required.
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