Prayer
Before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 119:142-144.
LORD, Your righteousness is everlasting and Your law is true.
Even when trouble and distress come upon me,
Your commands give me delight,
and Your statutes are always righteous.
Give me understanding today, that I may truly live.Amen.
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your awareness to the voice of God, coming to you through His Word.
Reading
By first telling and then explaining the parable of the wheat and the weeds, Jesus clearly teaches that the children of the Kingdom and children of the evil one will exist side by side in this world until the end of the age.
The Kingdom of God is present on earth through the children of the Kingdom who live under the influence of the Holy Spirit and are guided by the teachings of Jesus. In the parable we are represented by the wheat. And elsewhere Jesus declares that we are the light of the world. But the kingdom of darkness is also present in the world, through those who live under the influence of the evil one and are led by their own desires and temptations. In the parable they are represented by the weeds.
The parable and its explanation tell us that, until Christ returns, His disciples will find our lives intertwined with suffering, disease, hardship, and hunger. And we will also find ourselves living among those under the control of bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, pride, greed, arrogance, sexual immorality, falsehood, hypocrisy, envy and the like.
Jesus tells us the parable so that we will not to be surprised, discouraged or overwhelmed by this reality, and also so that we will not to try to eradicate evil people. Instead, we need to wait patiently for God to resolve the brokenness of our world and to restore it in His own time. We need to operate from a place of absolute trust in His sovereign grace and care, while continuing to reach out with grace to those who are trapped in brokenness.
Jesus assures us that there will be a final separation of these Kingdoms and their citizens at the end of the age, and that day is certainly coming. But, to use good South African slang, the point of the parable is that the end of this reality not now, it is not even “now-now” or “just-now”. That separation will only be at the end of the age.
Until the end of the age, disciples of Jesus will always live in a world where there is evil. Our calling is to remain faithful to King Jesus and His Kingdom until He returns.
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ,
- I will not lose heart at the presence of evil.
- I will keep my eyes on Jesus, trust Him and serve Him to the very end.
Lord Jesus, help me not to lose heart, and keep me faithful by the power of the Holy Spirit! Amen.
Dave's Diary 
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