Purple Deadnettle

This is Purple Deadnettle, a rather attractive plant with an unpleasant name. Its reputation on some sites is little better, described by gardeningknowhow.com as a rather annoying weed. Kristi Waterworth writes:

Getting rid of deadnettle weeds is much more challenging than dealing with many other annual weeds because they tend to go to seed before mowing season even begins. Couple that with the thousands of seeds each plant can release persisting in the soil for years, and you’ve got one durable weed on your hands. One or two purple deadnettle weeds popping up in the lawn can easily be plucked by hand and disposed of as soon as they appear, but a larger population requires a more complicated solution.

Like sin, this plant is rather attractive. Like sin, it gets in the way and spoils a perfectly good lawn. Like sin, its seeds are already sown by the time you come to pluck up individual examples. And like sin, it needs a more complicated solution. We cannot effect our own moral reformations. Sure, you might join a gym or employ a swear jar, but the underlying cause of your malady, a fallen human nature, remains. Only a new heart, the blood of the Passover Lamb and the Spirit’s sanctifying presence, can cleanse us. This is a bit more complicated than attending a self-help group or hearing a motivational speaker, but it is infinitely more effective.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress,
Helpless, look to Thee for grace:
Foul, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

-AT