Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. (NIV)

What are the dandelions in your life?

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As I write this, I’m losing my annual fight against dandelions.  I don’t spray them, and I know the only way to beat them is to dig up the roots. But I have hundreds, if not thousands, of dandelions in my yard, and in my neighbors’ yard, and across Alaska. I know I won’t get rid of them. But I can keep them from going poof in my yard. To do that, I pluck the yellow flower before it poofs, or I try to mow before they poof. But dandelions grow so fast! I can mow or pick all the yellow flowers in the morning, and an hour later others will have flowered.  It’s never ending, and sometimes overwhelming.  

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Here’s a question – what if I just changed my standard, or my outlook, on dandelions?  My daughter used to call them “handy dandies,” and my mother-in-law actually enjoys them. Instead of thinking of them as a weed, I could enjoy them as a wildflower.  

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Just kidding - that’s crazy talk, and it undercuts my analogy.

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Today, think about something in your life that you want to make better. Maybe it’s a sin you know you should stop, or maybe it’s just a habit you want to stop – it could be any number of things. Ultimately, just like with dandelions, you have to get to the root of the problem, or you’ll only address the façade – the flower. And it will come back….

In today’s verse, Paul tells his listener that there is no cause for religious boasting. Jew or Greek, male or female, Church on the Rock or ACF – We are all sinners. In Ephesians 2:8, Paul tells us that we have been saved by grace, through faith. It is not of our own doing; it is God’s gift.  

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One of the dandelions in my life is taking God’s gifts for granted. By doing so, I diminish God’s power in my life just as much as I would if I demonstrated religious arrogance, thinking that I had been saved because I was special.  

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When life is going well, it’s easy to think that I’ve earned it, or I deserve it. I’ve worked hard, so I deserve to be comfortable. I work out, so I deserve to be healthy. I’ve parented for a long time, so I deserve good kids and grandkids.  

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But by doing so, I ignore the fact that everything good in my life is because of God. He chose to save me, and to call me His own. He chose to love me. He chose to bless me with a meaningful job with good bosses in great places; He chose to help me make wise choices; He chose to keep me healthy; He chose to lead and nurture my kids. It’s easy for me to overlook God’s blessings that I can see.

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It’s even easier to take for granted God’s gifts that I can’t see. What if God helped me avoid an accident, and I don’t even know that I was in danger? What if He chose to keep sickness from me, my wife, or kids, and I don’t even know that we risked illness? What if He chose to keep some temptation from me, and I don’t even know that sin was knocking at my door? What if He blessed me without me even knowing it? What if He put dandelions in my life to remind me that I need Him, or just that I need the physical exercise of picking them?

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Today, I’m going to focus on giving God the glory for the seen and unseen blessings in my life, and recognizing that everything comes from Him, not from me.  I hope you’ll do the same.

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And maybe, I’ll start by thanking Him for dandelions….

Dear God, thank You for Your grace and mercy. Thank You for Your many blessings. Thank You for everything You have given me, even those things I don’t see. Please forgive me when I think too highly of myself, and less of You. Thank You for Your good and perfect gifts, including Your Son, Jesus. In His Name I Pray, Amen.