I don’t have a lawn now, but I remember the crazy length of those dandelion roots needing radical removal to set the lawn free. Those were no wimpy weeds, and that was no easy task.

This is why God’s hostility to evil is such good news. He will not settle for leaving traces of evil within me to grow again. He circles back again and again to the persistent roots, sending gentle rain to loosen the soil around them, digging a little deeper still. He has promised to complete the work He has started in me, to finish this business of making me holy.

Here’s the gift. Because of his holiness, I can trust Him with this. I don’t have to agonize over self examination: “Are there weeds left? Am I missing one, even a little one?” I can’t see clearly enough to judge unless He points out the weeds anyway.

I don’t have to stand over Him, checking to make sure He has the last rootlet. He doesn’t. Not yet. He knows that. But I can trust Him with the work. I can lean into His love, ask Him to show me what I need to see, do what He asks, and rejoice, knowing that He will do what He has promised.