Tumblyweeds and the church.

Roly poly, also known as prickly saltwort or tumbleweed (Salsola australis), is a native species found throughout Australia. Tumbleweed in its green state, is not unattractive. It lends colour to neglected fields, and for a little while in springtime we can appreciate its unobtrusive beauty.

But as the dry season advances, this plant becomes brown, brittle, and spiny. A bit like the stoney ground hearers of Jesus parable of the sower. (Matt 13). When the hot winds blow in late summer, its shallow root system allows great clumps to be lifted from the ground and to roll across fields and deserts. As they blow across the ground, they become entangled one with another, and soon they form great masses, commonly the size of a car, sometimes as large as a truck. The wind blows them until they reach a fence or some other obstruction, where they stay until the wind changes, dislodges them, and sends them off in a new direction. There sharp, spiny stems carry seeds that drop as they go, assuring a new crop of tumbleweed for the next season.

We seem to be developing a lot of tumbleweed Christians these days, people whose minds are always receptive to the latest fads, conspiracy theories, dietary reforms, or prophetic interpretations. When the wind of one of these new ideas hits them, they break loose from their shallow roots and go wandering across the desert of uncertainty, dropping their seeds as they go. They band together, each one gathering to himself others of like belief. And so they go, rootless, fruitless, unattractive, and at the mercy of every vagrant breeze.  They sap the churches collective resources.

Roly poly, along with a range of other species in the Salsola genus, is a prominent weed of agricultural systems internationally. Like most summer weed species, roly poly utilises soil moisture and nutrients that would otherwise be available to the following crop. The time taken to clear uncontrolled plants may delay seeding. Livestock will graze the young plants. However, they will not eat the mature plants, and are injured by the prickly leaves.

I don’t know if there is a species of tumbleweed in Asia Minor, but Paul must have had something like this in mind when he admonished the Ephesian believers, “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever, they sound like the truth.” (Eph 4:14NLT).

In areas where tumbleweed grows, streams, depending on the season, run from a trickle to a boisterous flood. The banks of these creeks often are lined with cottonwood trees. Tall, with smooth trunks and glossy leaves, they provide a band of green all year round.

In the hot days of summer, when the creeks are almost dry and the landscape shimmers with heat waves, one can find a welcome spot of shade beneath the cottonwoods, and a cooling puff of breeze.

“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” (Psalm 1:1-3 NLT)