Sunday, April 12, 2009

a time of peaceful coexistence

Matthew 13:24-30

The key words in this passage: parable, sowed, good seed, weeds. Jesus is using a word picture from agriculture: a farmer plants his field with good seed but when it sprouts, there are weeds among the wheat. Rather than pulling the weeds and risk uprooting the wheat, the farmer waits until harvest to deal with the wheat.
Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sows good seed in his field. I think Jesus is saying a couple of things: 1) that before the harvest, there may be those who look like they belong to the kingdom of heaven but do not and 2) that our job is not to uproot those who do not belong. The servants suggest getting rid of the weeds but the master is patient.
Sid and I have been talking a lot about this time of grace and peace that we currently live in. We can afford to be as gracious and peaceful as possible (without comprimising truth, of course) because there is a time of judgement coming. I think that some of us are too much like the servants - eager to root out the evil and if we happen to lose some of the wheat along the way... while collateral damage is the price you sometimes pay to get rid of evil.

1 comment:

Jeff Beer said...

We can't get rid of the wheat with the weeds, that will be God's job, but I feel sometimes like I need to be doing something more, I know that I have a saviour and he has done the work, but there is that feeling that comes in that doesn't necessarily want to pull the weeds but fix them and make them into wheat. May God just use us in this process and may we trust him fully.