My son and I recently volunteered at a local nature center, helping to eradicate invasive plant species. The center’s naturalist gave us a tutorial on the plants to look out for, how to remove them, and provided the necessary tools to do so.
I decided to tackle the smaller plants, thinking they would be easier to remove. It didn’t take long for me to discover that while they appeared small above the ground—just little green shoots popping up here and there—below the soil, their roots stretched out wide. I tugged and pulled and found the roots went several feet sideways from the plant. The bigger plants required even more effort, using the special tools provided by the nature center. At the end of the afternoon, we were all sore and tired.
The naturalist pointed out that when an invasive species is removed, native plants instantly start growing again. Their seeds have laid there in the soil, ready and waiting for the opportunity to grow. While the work seemed overwhelming because of how many plants there were on the property, this news gave us hope that all the work was worth it.
This plant removal experience presented for me a clear picture of the invasive nature of idols in our hearts. Those things we love and worship apart from God; the things we place our hope and trust in to make our lives better. All those things we turn to for refuge apart from our Savior—things like comfort, control, success, and acceptance.
Some idols seem small and insignificant. Powerless even. Perhaps idols like that of comfort—one which everyone worships in some form or another. It’s an idol often born out of the need to de-stress and relax, yet one that quickly becomes a go-to savior at the end of every day. However innocent our idols seem, their roots run deep and the longer we let them grow, the more work is required to remove them.
Those bigger idols—the ones we’ve worshipped for so long, it’s hard to imagine not having them in our life—are like the weeds that have grown into trees, blocking out the light of the sun. Over time, we’ve grown used to the darkness. Even worse, we don’t notice the ways our idols slowly advance into deeper recesses of our hearts. These idols are ones we’ve built our life around. They rule over and govern our choices; they reign over our days. Like the removal of invasive plants, it often requires a team effort to identify and remove such idols. This is when we need the help of trusted and godly friends to come alongside us in the effort. We need them to shine a light on things we can’t see. We need them to show us the necessary tools—the means of grace—to use in their eradication. We need their encouragement to continue on in the work, as long as it takes.
At the nature center, my son and I learned that invasive plants must be removed down to the roots. If we just pull and break them at the stalk, they will only grow back stronger than before. This is a good reminder that temporary solutions, while helpful in the moment, do not get to the roots of our idolatry. We need more than distractions or inspirational messages to deal with idols of the heart. We need the transforming work of the gospel, through the power of the Spirit, to uproot our lesser loves. We need the Word of God, which is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). We need the power of prayer, wherein we abide in Christ and receive the benefits of our union with him. We need near constant reminders of Christ’s love set on us in eternity past, of his life lived for us, of his sacrifice made on our behalf.
As we identify and uproot idols in our hearts, we must also replace those idols with greater love for our Savior. If we don’t, in due time, we’ll simply exchange one idol for another. This requires a different kind of work, a work of gazing upon the infinite perfections, the gracious love, and the radiant glories of our Savior. It requires a more powerful affection than that for our idols; it requires a love born out of gratitude for all we have received. It will take an eternity to plumb the depths of Christ’s love for us. Perhaps that is why Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they would have “strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:18-19). May this be our prayer as well.
Just as weed and invasive plant removal is not a one-and-done thing, neither is the work of weeding the heart for idols. It’s a regular work. We are always on alert for and evaluating our hearts for lesser loves. The more we identify, repent, and turn from idols back to our first love, the more light and life will shine in our hearts. And the more fruit will thrive and grow.
For more on ways to evaluate the heart for those things we often look to for life and hope apart from Christ, click here.
