Thinx 36: Weeds and Wheat -- an appeal to the Weeds

Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' ..."
-- Matthew 13:24-28a RSV

Sadly, many of you are weeds ("tares" in older translations.) The devil has planted you here. Your purpose is to impact Christians individually and corporately so as to render them ineffective, by whatever means are at your disposal.

Fear not, weeds, for we do not know who you are. And you are safe, for now, because God has told us not to try to pull you out. God has said he will send his angels out to do that on the Day of Judgement.

" ... the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels."
-- Matthew 13:39

But we will know you by your fruit, by what you produce during the course of your life. Good consistently comes out of good hearts, and evil out of evil hearts.

Gossips give themselves away. So do those who do the things God hates:

There are six things which the LORD hates, seven which are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows discord among brothers.
-- Proverbs 6:16-19 RSV

Weeds, you have nothing to fear from us. We will not hunt you down to destroy you. We will not try to pull you out of the congregations you inhabit, for to do so would endanger the wheat.

The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather [the weeds]?' But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest ...'
-- Matthew 13:28b-30a RSV

Do not fear us, weeds. Instead, fear God. When Jesus returns he will cause the weeds to be gathered and the wheat to be harvested. The wheat he will keep. The weeds he will burn.

Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
-- Matthew 13:40-43a RSV

Weeds, it is not too late for you. Miracles happen: you can become wheat, and thus avoid destruction. Repent, that is, change your way of thinking. Acknowledge before God the reality of your situation. Stop taking your guidance from the devil, the world and the flesh. Start listening to, and obeying, God. Align yourself with his purposes. Believe in him. Seek his kingdom and his righteousness. There is still time.

Jesus came ... saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel."
-- Mark 1:14b-15 RSV

Every time you knock back the hand that offers you life, you cement into your character the habit of rejection. Before it is too late, before rejection of God becomes a way of life leading to death, repent and believe!

As for you who are wheat, pray for the weeds. Confirm your status as wheat through daily repentance and belief: Daily realign yourself with God; Daily act in obedience to his word; Daily conform your thoughts, words and actions to those of God through prayer, meditating on his word, and obeying his commands.

© Bruce M. Axtens, 2006.

Thinx 35: Van Nguyen

So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
-- 2 Corinthians 5:20 RSV

Van Nguyen's plight is our plight. His brother wilfully pushed God away, so God let him go. The splash and ripples following his plunge affected everyone around him.

We also have relatives, friends and neighbours who wilfully push God aside. Can we avoid being impacted by their plunge into darkness when God lets them go?

We must pray, and we must speak, and we must act. All or nothing. Discuss the issues with God in prayer and get yourself realigned to his plans and purposes. Take the issues up with the world around you through your words, spoken and written. Act out the reality -- be a living example of the plans and purposes of God.

Can we stop the rot? Is that the most important question? Is faithfulness to God, no matter what the cost, important? Can we love a world that pushes God away? God loved us. Can we love others? Or are we so complacent, so apathetic, that we're happy to let the world go to hell, and to live as if we will be unaffected by its plunge?

Thanks to Shaphan Cox, who, a week or so before the execution, stood up in church and challenged us to think: to examine the issues, and dig beyond the the facile sensationalism and sentimentality of the media reports.