There are weeds in my garden – I didn’t put them there, but the battle is mine if I care about my garden. The longer I wait to act, the more weeds take over my garden.

The bible says that our passions and desires influence us to sin. God says that sin is always laying by us – just like the weeds in my garden. It’s my responsibility to remove it – to always watch out and fight the battle. I’m not trying to sin, but if I don’t fight it, sin always wins, because it IS trying to destroy us. And often, the one who tries hardest is the winner.

So what motivation do we have to fight against the selfish desires that tempt us to sin? What would give us the strength to fight this battle all day long, every day? The Bible says “for God so loved the world that he gave the son he loved” so we could be saved. The motivation is love. God shows us that wonderful things can happen when we act to protect the safety and welfare of others – even if that causes us to die.

If I love my garden, I will take the weeds from it. If I love my family, I will protect it from the world’s weeds, like bad influences. God doesn’t let those weeds in heaven, so we don’t let them in our homes or lives.

If God had loved only himself, he would have done nothing to save us. If he didn’t love us enough, he would not have done enough to save us. But he loved us SO much, that he gave up his own desires and son to save us.

God is our example. When it seems too hard to keep fighting temptation or to give up on what we want to save others, we can talk to God just like Jesus did before he gave up his life for us.