day no. 15,119: out in the weeds on this one

"A man should not think he makes any progress in godliness if he does not walk daily over the bellies of his lusts" - John Owen

Gardens produce weeds. That is not their intended purpose or design, but nevertheless it is a given side effect of having a garden. There will be weeds. You can solve the problem of having weeds in your garden by not having a garden, but then you just have weeds. Or you can solve the problem by pulling weeds in order to protect the garden. The plot of land is a garden, but it has weeds. It is not a weedy garden, it is a garden with weeds. If it is a weed garden, that is just another way of saying it's not a garden. Gardens don't make weeds because they wanted to do, but because that's what the land was going to do anyways. A land without a gardener is like a sheep without a shepherd -- that is to say, in danger of being devoured. This particular plot of land, called a garden, still produces weeds, but it is identified by the presence of a gardener, not the presence of weeds. Conversely, it doesn't have to wait until there is an absence of weeds in order to be called a garden. A garden can and will produce weeds, but it does not tolerate or cater to their presence. There is no weed section of any garden. To have a section allowed for weeds to thrive is to have a garden that is about to become completely weeded.

 “He who wants to keep his garden tidy does not reserve a plot for weeds.” 
-- Dag Hammarskjold

Saved sinners produce sin. It is an unfortunate side effect of being a sinner, even if you are the saved variety. There will be sin. You can solve the problem of sin by not being saved, but you still have sin, you just no longer have a problem with it. Or you can solve the problem by pulling sin up by the root and cutting if out of your life. You will be saved, but you will still have sin. You are not a saintly sinner, but a saint who sins. If you are a sinful sinner, that is just another way of pointing out that you are not a saint of any kind. Saints don't sin because they want to, but because that's what sinners do. Saints are a type of sinner. Sinners gonna sin. If you are marked off as a saint, it does not stop you from sinning, but you are identified as a saint because you oppose the sins you produce and demonstrate this by violently extracting them from your land when you identify them using your field guide for assistance since some are sneaky and take on, to the best of their ability, the shape of fruitful plants. You do not have to wait until you are sinless to be a saint. If that were the case, it would just be another way of saying that there is no such thing as a saint. A saint does not tolerate or cater to their sins. There is no private harbor for sin to survive without interruption. To have such a place is just another way of saying you are a future apostate. No one can tolerate the presence of sin without eventually becoming identified entirely by it.