Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Matthew 13: 36-43

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as 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 who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Ask any agrostologist the best way to have a weed free lawn and he will tell you to have a vibrant and healthy lawn. When the lawn is weak, unhealthy, or sparse it give weeds a chance to germinate and take over the yard. If caught early, the weed population can be kept in control but if left unchecked weeds will eventually take over the lawn and choke out the grass.

The same is true with good and evil. Where you have a strong population of good evil cannot get a foothold. Where good is weak or sparse evil takes over. If evil is flourishing in our culture today it is only because the good has grown complacent. We either nurture the good so it becomes strong and vibrant or we allow evil to continue to grow.

You cannot pluck out weeds one at a time and be successful. Likewise, you cannot pluck out weeds without also damaging the soil that also grows the good. They only way to drive out the weeds is to surround them with vibrant, healthy grass.