SEED OR WEED?
Valerie Rae Hanneman
August 13, 2004
Matthew 13:29-30 “ 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up 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.' " (NIV)
I grew up back in the day when Middle School was called Junior High School and when it was three years (7th through 9th) instead of two. I have had some tough periods in my life - but none quite as miserable as those three years. I wanted so desperately “to belong” to be just like the popular girls. But my own lack of self-esteem always made me feel inferior and insignificant. After all, I wasn’t cute, my family was not well-off, I did not have a “bubbly” personality and as far as physical development went - I was all elbows & knees and flat as a board. I was so desperate to belong that I came up with this brilliant idea - I would make believe like I had a boyfriend who was in high school. I figured that that was a sure-fire way to get into the popular clique. So I got hold of a gold colored chain, put a “borrowed” men’s ring on it - then wore it on my neck. I tried to show it off without being obvious and sure enough other girls started noticing it. I had a story all prepared about this fictional Prince Charming who was a senior at Roosevelt High School and so when they started asking about the ring - I started lying. And for awhile the deception worked. I was the only girl who had a boyfriend who was a senior and that made me special. I was the center of the group - for awhile. The problem was that I may have acted just like the rest of those popular girls - but I was living a lie. I wasn’t really anything like them. I guess that in time they figured that any senior boy who was willing to go steady with a geek like me had to be a mega-geek. I may have faked it with the popular girls - I may have looked like I belonged with them - but the bottom line is that I didn’t.
Jesus was teaching His disciples about the Kingdom of Heaven one day. He compared it to a number of things and then He started talking about those who would look like the rest of His followers - but were faking it. He told of a field that was sown with seed and that night the enemy threw weed seeds in with the good seeds. Nobody noticed until the seeds started showing their fruit and the weeds were seen for what they were. The owner was asked if the weeds should be pulled and he replied to let them be - that if they were removed the good plants would be damaged. He said that the weed’s time was coming. That at harvest they would be separated from the good plants and burned.
Jesus knew that there were going to be fakers in His Church. People who weren’t really in relationship with Him. There would be those who had been in church their whole lives and figured that because they were “good” they were okay. He knew that there would be those who, like me in junior high, were looking for a way to belong without knowing the One to Whom we belong. And He knew that there would be the others who were purposely planted in the Church by the great deceiver, satan, to cause problems.
There are several very interesting facets to this parable that I would like us to consider.
When the good seed and the bad seed were first growing in the field, you couldn’t tell them apart. It wasn’t until they were reaching maturity that the servants came to the owner and said, “Hey, boss, we’ve got a problem.” It was when the seed started producing it’s fruit - it’s harvest - that you could tell the difference. Jesus told us often in His Word, “By their fruit you will know them.” The good seeds produced wheat. The bad seed produced weeds. The good seed in the kingdom’s harvest is going to produce good fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The bad seed is going to produce weeds: discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy. No matter how well the bad seed fakes it on Sonday morning, when push comes to shove, how they live their life will show if their fruit is good or if it is weeds.
It is also interesting to see that when the servants asked the owner if he wanted them to pull the weeds out of the fields - the owner said no, it would damage the good wheat if the weeds were pulled. That the situation would be dealt with at harvest. Jesus did not appoint us as weed-pickers. It is not our job to weed out the fakers from our congregation. Can you imagine the chaos and damage in the Church if all of a sudden the weed-pickers were determining if our relationship with Jesus was real or faked? And were tossing us out of the pews if we didn’t make the cut? The harvest - the kingdom work - would be severely damaged. So what do we do with the one who thinks that they are good-enough? We love them and we show them Jesus. What do we do with the one who is just looking to belong? We love them and we show them Jesus. What do we do with the one who is causing problems? We love them and we show them Jesus. Pretty basically that is the answer to everything - just love them and show them Jesus. Jesus is the owner of our field and it is His responsibility to deal with the weeds.
And he will deal with the seed and the weed. When it is time for Him to take His harvest from this among this earth, then the bad weeds will be separated from the good seed. The weeds will be sent into eternal death and the good seed will be gathered into His barn.
I am so grateful that I am headed for the barn. But while I am on this earth it is not my job to determine if another is a seed or a weed. It is my job to make sure that I bring as much seed into the barn with me as I can and leave the harvesting to my Owner, Jesus.
LORD Jesus, I bow my knee and my heart to You in gratitude that because of our relationship I am headed for the barn. Help me not to be content to just be headed for the barn but to work in Your fields of harvest so I can bring as many others with me as possible.
Contact Valerie at valerie@fresnofirst.org
Posted by Valerie at August 13, 2004 07:29 PM