His Days Are As Grass Ps. 103:15 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

The Bible says, As for man, his days are as grass.  When you think about the way grass grows and how we must maintain grass to keep it alive and well groomed, we find some interesting parallels between men and grass.  By studying a few obvious things about grass perhaps we will “see” spiritual connections to things in our own lives.  Sometimes it is easier to see a spiritual truth in a type or in a parable than it is to see it spiritually.

Now, for this comparison, I am thinking about St. Augustine grass or what we used to call “carpet” grass.  Notice these things that are true about carpet grass that are also true about men.

Grass needs to be watered – grass must maintain an adequate amount of moisture for the time of year and the weather conditions [i.e., it needs more water in the hot summer] – can you see some applications here – the Holy Spirit is likened to water in the Bible [Jn 7:37-39] – therefore, when you are filled with the Spirit you are adequately watered – when you are not, you are dry – and no one knows better than the Spirit himself just how much you need – furthermore, grass responds much better to rain water than it does to treated “city” water – the word of God is likened to water in the Bible [Eph 5:26] – men’s use of “treated” water [modern Bibles] will not sustain you nearly like the “rain” of the true words of God [King James Bible, Is 55:10-11].

Grass needs to be fed – generally there are two good time to fertilize carpet grass – there is the spring feeding and there is the winter feeding – these are different fertilizer combinations to feed the root system during the dormant winter months and to feed the blade during the spring and summer growing seasons – can you see an application here – this seasonal fertilizing is like having a special revival meeting – when you get a big dose of spiritual food to carry you through a season.

Grass goes through seasons of growth – during the winter, grass is generally dormant and in the spring it starts to grow and grows well until the late fall, at which time it becomes dormant again – can you see the application here – you are going to go through seasons of spiritual growth at certain times and at other times you are going to be dormant – these times of dormancy are important for your spiritual health – they make you stronger for your next season of growth – so don’t get upset when you “plateau” from time to time.

Grass grows by spreading out – carpet grass sends runners out and spreads by covering soil and by covering itself to make a thicker lawn – can you see an application here – we grow by spreading out to our neighbors and friends and by growing thicker in our families and relatives.

Grass needs to be mowed – in order to keep the grass healthy and well groomed it needs to be mowed regularly – can you see an application here – mowing is like coming to church each week – you get mowed and groomed!!

Grass needs to be weeded out – there are weeds that show up in the late winter and early spring and then there are some weeds that you have to deal with all year long – interestingly those winter weeds show up at a time when the grass is really getting ready to grow – can you see an application here – weeds are like sins in your life – and so we understand that during seasons of growth in our lives we also generally have to deal with more sin in our lives – you wouldn’t think that would be so – but after a few growing seasons you’ll see the trend in your life and you’ll have to be on guard against those sins – to get rid of these weeds you have to pull them up by the roots and, like sin, you have to deal with them consistently – if not they will overtake sections of your lawn like sin will overtake parts of your life.

Grass needs to be treated – that is when grass gets attacked by bugs or by fungi you have to treat it to kill off what’s attacking it – can you see an application here – the devil attacks us just like bugs and fungi attack grass and so you need to fight him with your spiritual armor – you can tell when grass needs to be treated because it starts showing signs of unusual stress – likewise you will show signs of spiritual stress – you may need to take a sample of your grass to the local nursery to determine the cause of the stress and you may need some help from a spiritual counselor to determine the cause of your spiritual stress – oftentimes, the stress can’t be found until you get down to the “roots” where the problem starts.

Grass needs good soil – the better the soil the better the grass grows – can you see the application – a good heart is likened to good soil [Lk 8:15] – the better your heart the better your spiritual growth.

Conclusion: If you don’t want to hassle with all of this then you can just have artificial turf – and that is the case with many so-called Christians – they have an artificial Christian life!