If the truth be told, I suspect that most of us join the church not primarily to be in fellowship with God; but to be in fellowship with people who we trust will love us, nurture us, and forgive us. It comes as a tremendous disappointment, then, when we first realize that the church is not all good, and that the Kingdom values do not always hold sway among those who name the name of Christ. When this happens, two reactions usually follow.
First, we become angry at the church…and not just at the people who may have hurt us. We get angry at everyone else for allowing them to hurt us—As if the entire congregation always knew 100% about what everyone else was doing and they had all placed their “stamp of approval” upon whatever we’re upset about.
Second, after our ire is good and riled up against God’s people, we turn it on Him as well. After all, if we can justify being mad at everyone in the church for the injustices they have allowed, then it only stands to reason that God (Who is the all-knowing head of the church) is to blame as well.
It is precisely at such times, that we need to be reminded of the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds. Jesus tells the story of a farmer who sows his field. But during the night an enemy comes and sows weeds among the field, and no one realizes it until the plants have started to sprout. When they realize what has happened, the farm hands react in the same way I often do. They are angry…incensed…they want justice and they want it NOW! They ask the farmer, “Should we pull out the weeds?” (13:28) To their surprise, the farmer says “No. You’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let 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.” (13:29-30)
We must learn that God’s patience and forbearance is not a sign that He doesn’t care about us, or about the evil that may well be present in His field. Rather, He is patient precisely because He cares so much. To unleash His judgment before the right time, could well destroy wheat along with the weeds; And God has made the decision that it is better to let a few weeds grow than to risk destroying a single stalk of wheat. So the next time you find yourself frustrated by the weeds among you, rather than focusing upon uprooting them, look for little wheat stalks nearby who are struggling just as much as you are. Nurture them. Love them. Water them. And most of all, make sure you do your part to get them as much “Son light” as possible.
-- Justin
For the Kids: Wheat and Weeds coloring sheet
The idea and reality of repentance are comforting to me in light of reading this particular blog. Justin, your blog tells me that though I might have been sinfully harsh in the past on myself and others I can change years of habits because my Lord is not bound by time. I was cleaning a house one day, and they haf a plaque that said it's never too late to live happily ever after. It's never too late to embrace the One who created me. He continues to embrace us all even though, duh, the reality of the cross and all it means has been part of our existential questions over 2000 years. I'm not condoning our sin, and I'm not saying that I need to be more tolerant, but I am saying that just like everyone on the fictional show Cheers, we want to go where everybody knows our name. Thanks bro!
ReplyDeleteYou are such a great writer and teacher, not to mention a WONDERFUL husband! Keep up the good work. Kingdom living ain't easy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, sweetheart. You're not so bad yourself;-)
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