A New Toy

Dan Kunz

I got a new “toy” a while back and finally used it for the first time this week - a propane torch.  It’s about two feet long and has a hose which connects to a 20-pound propane tank, the kind people use for their gas grills.  Although it can be used for a variety of purposes, my main use is for getting rid of the pesky weeds which grow around our house.  I’ve tried pulling them and using weedkiller.  The Internet, source of all knowledge, tells me that burning weeds with a blow torch is another good alternative.  Of course, a lot of guys (and gals) like playing with fire, and I’m no exception.  Give me a fire ring, some good oak firewood, a little kindling, an old newspaper, and a box of “farmer matches”, and I’ll be entertained for the entire evening.  Needless to say, I thought burning weeds sounded like great fun (and it was)!

As I used my new toy, several things came to mind.  I had only torched a couple of the leafy interlopers, when a Bible passage popped into my head.  2 Thessalonians 2:8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy when he appears in splendor at his coming.  Yikes!  It took mere seconds to destroy a perfectly healthy weed with the flame from my torch.  The unbeliever will fair no better at The Judgement.  It’s something almost too horrible to comprehend, and yet unrepentant sinners don’t seem too fazed by that prospect.  God is our kind, loving Father, it’s true, but he is also a strict, stern judge for those who chose to ignore his call for repentance.  God is deadly serious about sin and its consequences.

I also noticed that some weeds were a little harder to destroy than others.  I’m no “weed whisperer”, but what I would describe as tall, stringy weeds, were gone in a flash.  Others, closer to the ground and leafier, took a little longer to succumb.  Isn’t it that way with sinners?  Some who turn their back on salvation go out in a “blaze of glory” while relatively young and others live long, protracted lives of disobedience.  The end result, however, is the same.  God’s judgement is God’s judgement, whether you’re twenty-years-old or ninety-years-old. 

The final lesson from my first foray into the world of weed-extermination is also worth noting.  When eliminating weeds which are close to something you may not want to burn, you need to be really, really careful!  No, I didn’t burn our house down, but one piece of cedar trim at the base of the steps to our deck will need a little sanding and re-staining.  (Insert frowning face here!)  Again, a Biblical teaching applies.  If you’re a little too close to and cozy with those who have no time for God, you, too, can feel the repercussions of their behavior.  More than one faithful Christian has suffered harm to their faith because of their proximity to sinful behavior. 

Fortunately, God is the one wielding the torch, not me.  He knows a “weed” when he sees one.  He also knows his own dear children who love him and rely on his Son, Jesus Christ, to be spared the fate of an unbeliever.  We need not worry about the consequences of our sin because our Savior removed them.  He suffered in our place, so we won’t be separated from him on Judgement Day.  Believe and be saved!  Weeds don’t face a pleasant future…