Tangled Roots

Though it stood among a row of strong, thriving hedges, one of mine always seemed to be in trouble. Season after season, I tried everything—treatments for fungus, sprays for insects, remedies for roots. The struggle to save it became almost a mission, even as I saw the toll it was taking on the healthy hedges around it. Finally, I faced the truth: this hedge would not recover. It had to be removed and replaced.

Easier said than done. We soaked the soil until it was soft, tied a rope around the base, and pulled upward with the tractor bucket. But it wouldn’t budge. Its roots were so tightly tangled with the roots of the neighboring hedges that removing it threatened to injure the very ones I wanted to protect.

So, I got down on my knees. With clippers in hand, I worked carefully, cutting away the diseased roots from the healthy ones. It was painstaking. And even with all that effort, the neighboring hedges still showed signs of shock in the days that followed.

Sin is much the same. It weaves itself into the soil of our lives and entwines with the people closest to us. Removing it is rarely easy, and often painful, but it is necessary for health and growth. The process always does less damage when we’re willing to get down on our knees—before God, in prayer, asking Him to help us separate the good from the bad.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:9