By Jim Harriman, FAS Speaker
One of the jobs we have out at the Bolivian Evangelical University ranch is cleaning the paddocks of unwanted bushes and shrubs that hinder the pasture grass. It is a constant job to keep the paddocks clean for our cattle. One bush/tree that is especially unpleasant is the cat’s claw tree (in Spanish, “uña de gato”). Its thorns grow to about one-quarter inch with a slight inward curve. They are nasty! It will stick to your clothes—and your skin!—like Velcro. If the left side of your body gets “grabbed” and you turn to “unpuncture” yourself, and while turning left, your right side brushes up against the bush, you are in for a serious predicament! Then it’s difficult to get out altogether. It is a painful experience you will never forget.
The Apostle Paul’s words ring true, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). But I’ve come to the conclusion that before there is death by sin there are thorns by sin, cat’s claw thorns. If anybody dies a sinner, often a lot of misery has gone before.
Another lesson I have learned from the cat’s claw trees is that in order to destroy them we cut them down with a machete then pour a chemical liquid on the freshly cut stump. The chemical travels down into the roots and kills the tree. It won’t die by cutting its branches; it dies with an expensive chemical at the roots.
A wise man once said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.” It’s true. Sin takes away freedom; it takes away options in life. I suppose any physical comparison to gain a spiritual truth will always fall short in some way theologically. Undoubtedly the cat’s claw tree and the paddock analogy do the same. But I can’t help but think of the human heart and how sin, like that tree, takes away the freedom of life and liberty. First, the paddock of the heart needs to be kept clean. Cat’s claws and paddocks don’t mix! Vigilance is the only answer when sin lurks at the door. Second, the blood of Christ is the only sacred “chemical” against sin that can deliver a permanent cure before its thorns grab you!
Can the paddock of the heart be kept clean? I believe it can. It’s a beautiful sight to see a paddock clean with nothing but pasture grass as far as the eye can see. It’s productive; it’s nutritious to the animals that graze there; and it allows them to roam freely without hindrance.
What does your heart look like? Are there any cat’s claw trees that need to be taken care of? If so, let’s apply God’s necessary remedy as soon as possible—without delay.