Weeds
‘The man’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your paddock; where did the weeds come from?” “It was some enemy who did this,” he answered. “Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?” they asked him. “No,” he answered, “because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest.” (verses 27-30a)
Weeds are a perennial problem. No matter how hard farmers and gardeners try to eliminate them, they always reappear. Couldn’t something be done to get rid of them once and for all?
It’s a bit like that other contentious issue, the problem of evil. If God really loves us, why does he allow evil people to prosper in the world? Surely, if he was truly benevolent, he would cause their downfall, leaving the good people, those who belong to him, to survive and do well in the world.
Jesus’ parable provides a partial answer. God has his own time and his own way of dealing with these matters. Besides, if God was to eliminate evil people, who could possibly survive? All of us are tainted in some way. Meanwhile, we should be patient, trusting in God, knowing that in the end there will be justice for us all.
And we know that for God’s people, that justice will be tinged with mercy.
Dear Lord, help me to survive in the faith until the day of judgment, despite the weeds that grow around me. Amen.
by Richard Hauser, in ‘Living Water for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2001)
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