The Parable of the Weeds

 

 

Over the past few months, I have been faced the challenge of choosing how to react to certain issues. It’s caused me to dig into the New Testament and see how Jesus dealt with normal, everyday, sin-filled people who didn’t follow Him.

Last week I wrote about 3 Bible stories that helped me understand Jesus’s heart for unbelievers. Over the weekend, I was also reminded of Jesus’s parable of the wheat and the weeds:

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” Matthew 13:24-30 NIV

We have weeds everywhere, in our churches (even in our small groups), in our schools, at work, in government, in every group we are a part of. I admit, my natural response is to pull them…get them out of my “wheat”. After all, we all know that weeds suck up vital nutrients and can even choke out the things we are trying so hard to grow.

Jesus says no. HE says to leave them be. Why? Look at it again:

“‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Oh my goodness, how many young Christians have been hurt by church turmoil? Church splits destroy young, immature Christians. Jesus says, “let me deal with the weeds when I get ready. YOU focus on the task at hand…growing wheat.”

Another interesting little nugget… notice that the weeds aren’t separated until the wheat is ready to harvest. Thinking about people I have known throughout my life and ministry, I can think of several  who LOOKED like “weeds”, but were really just very immature, new Christians.

We have to give everyone time to trust Jesus and to mature in their faith.

Our job is to grow wheat. Give them good fertile soil. Water them and let them soak up the Son so that they grow deep strong roots and are able to withstand all the storms of life.

We can trust Jesus with the Wheat...and the Weeds.