WHEAT HEART

The parables of Jesus are often, and obviously, concerning agricultural issues…trees, fruit, plants, figs, sheep, goats, vineyards and wheat. One of my favorites is the Parable of Wheat and Tares (weeds).

I think it is an often-misunderstood parable. I know I have through the years certainly changed some of my thoughts on it. The parable says that a man “sowed good seed in his field.” (Matthew 13:24) But while sleeping “an enemy came and sowed tares (weeds) among the wheat” (v.25). The landowner eventually told the workers “not to pull out the weeds yet, but to allow them to grow together until harvest time” and then it will be sorted out” (vs.28-30).

This is often interrupted to mean that those sitting in church may be those that are ‘saved’ (wheat) and also those that are just pretending to have faith (weeds). The Lord makes it clear that ‘the field’ is not the church but ‘the field is the world’ (v.38) and ‘the good seed ‘these are the sons of the Kingdom and the tares (weeds) are the sons of the world’ (v.38).

Wheat and Tares in the field of the world is an issue in our hearts. It is very important to see this is not only a wheat field in Palestine, Canada or Kansas, but in our hearts. The fight is with our Wheat Heart and Weed Heart. We are responsible to do some weed control as we go along. But the final ‘harvest’ is the Lord’s business.

I think it just means to be diligent farmers and take care of our heart with the very best skills we can knowing that the enemy wants to contaminate our hearts.

“The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.” Jesus