What Kind Of Seedlings Will We Plant?
Good Morning Friends,
When Moses destroyed the Ten Commandments in anger God could have given up on the Hebrews, but that is not the approach taken. God offers grace and second chances. So too in the parable of the weeds Jesus gives us an interpretation that helps us understand why this approach is necessary. Sometimes what we do not do is as important as what we do. Jesus gives us seven keys to understanding the parable of the Wheat in Matthew 13:37-39. They help us understand other parables by answering: Who really sows? Where God is working? Are we God’s children? Who are the Devil’s children? Who ultimately is responsible for evil? How long must we wait? And who harvests? The thought of it makes me a little nervous for not only is the world like the field in the storyline but so am I. And that brings us to today’s question and perhaps the hope of sanctification. So, even though I know the focus is on our collective action in response to God, I still ask of myself and of you. What Kind Of Seedlings Will We Plant?
Scripture: Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each of them, at the entrance of their tents and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down, all of them, at the entrance of their tent. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then he would return to the camp; but his young assistant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the tent. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name, “The Lord.” The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28 (NRSV)
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
Matthew 13:36-43 (NRSV)
Message: The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds from Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 has implications for society and more specifically for the church.
It helps us to understand that the church is and will always be a mixture of good and evil, but those who are righteous by faith will still produce.
The reality is that the Church does much good in the world, like schools, universities, medical care, music, arts, literature, science, human rights, opposing slavery, influencing laws, providing orphanages, care for the hungry and poor. So why is evil also in the Church? I really do not need to go down an historical list of what people have done in the name of purifying the faith. Inquisitions and murders taint our history. But Jesus tells us that we cannot weed all corruption out of religious institutions. Of course, we get upset and angry with the wrong doing but then realize that church is a place for sinners as well as saints. Liberals and conservatives accuse each other of evil. But none is without sin. We live in a fallen world where there are inequalities. The scales of justice are not always weighted properly. God’s enemy, and ultimately our enemy, would like nothing more than to have us remain oblivious to the things that are happening all around us. Still we need to grow together until the harvest.
Pray we continue growing. Pray we be patient for some responsibilities belong to angels. Pray we remain alert until the end of the age. Pray we exercise spiritual discernment. Pray we plant seeds that do not only look like they will produce but do. Pray we not be too judgmental. Pray for forgiveness. Pray we realize that at the harvest the righteous will shine forth. Pray we realize that we are saved by faith. Pray we realize that whatsoever people sow, that shall also be what they reap. Pray for God’s rule on earth to come. Pray until then that we gird ourselves up with the armor of God while we sow seeds of hope, love and peace. Pray we realize that we are at war.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 