24Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.25But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.26When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.27“The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’28“ ‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.“ ‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.29“ ‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do.30Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’ ”
God planted good seed. His intent was good. Satan comes and plants weeds, both in the world and in our own lives. Imagine what it takes to plant weeds. Satan has to grow, and work, and harvest the weeds just like a farmer works for good crops. How evil is that? Yet I know when I hold a grudge I am harvesting weed seed that I will very likely scatter later in the form of an angry word or throwing cold-water on someone’s idea.
Now see the wisdom of God. He is kind and patient, and does not pull the weeds. We know the weeds will harm his good crop and stress it. But He chooses that over destroying one unnecessarily. Perhaps the stress will even make the survivors stronger? Also, when plants are young a green it can be very hard to tell wheat or barley from grass and weeds. God is willing to wait, just to be sure. But make no doubt about it, in the end, there will be justice. The parable leaves no room for the belief that everyone gets to heaven.
In our own life there is good seed and bad. We can take in either. We can scatter either. We can be the farmer, or we can be the enemy. We can be the wheat, or we can be the weeds. We can be the good soil, or the rocky soil. We have probably been all of the above at one time or another. We live stressed lives in a stressed field full of weeds. But some day we will be brought into heaven and have rest…or be burned.
Lord, help me see the weed seed that I have harvested in the form of unforgiveness and help me to forgive. Help me to scatter the good seed of your love and word. I am so sorry for the times in my life when I scatter bad seed. Help me to grow and be fruitful in a field of weeds. And Lord, if I can somehow be used to help a weed turn into wheat, please use me. Beginner’s Online Bible Study *obbs*
