In Matthew 13,
Jesus tells of a
farmer who sowed good seed in field, only to find that an enemy
had sowed weeds
among the wheat. When the
man’s servants
realize this, they ask, “Do you want us to go pull them up?”
(Verse 28) The farmer
answers, “No! 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’” (Verses
29-30).
I have always heard
this parable
used as a lesson in patience, or as a reminder of the coming
judgment day. However, I
think there is another point to
understand.
The farmer did not
want his
servants in his field because they are focused on the weeds! Their first inclination is
to think about
what is wrong, and, because of that, they will pull out not only
the bad plants
but the good ones too. The
farmer does
not want them in the field because they are not seeing things
properly.
Contrast that to
Jesus’ attitude. When he
looks at the world, he says, “Wake up
and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest!” (John
4:35). Instead of
thinking that everything is
falling apart and that no one wants to hear about spiritual
things, his estimation
is that, “The harvest is plentiful” (Matthew 9:37). Jesus
focuses
on the potential, not the problems.
He
sees the wheat, not the weeds. He
understands that something that looks bad may turn into something
good. He believes that
there will be a
harvest. Therefore, he
reacts
differently.
At its core, faith
is a way of
seeing the world and understanding life.
As Christian people, we must train ourselves to see things
the way God
sees them. We must believe
that God is
at work and that there is more going on than what we see or
understand. We must guard
our hope!
I am not saying that
we ought to live
in denial and pretend that there are no problems, but I am saying
that what we
focus on grows!
We serve a God of
resurrection
and life!
Therefore, we better
focus on the
wheat and not the weeds.
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