Weeds Bear No Fruit
Matthew 13
24 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds[a] among the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The landowner’s slaves came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this!’ he told them.
“‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?’ the slaves asked him.
29 “‘No,’ he said. ‘When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.’”
I remember when I was a young boy looking at a field of flowers thinking how beautiful they were. I thought it was cool how they just seemed to grow out of nowhere. One of my favorite flower was dandelions. Later, when I was older I heard that the flower was actually a weed. We all love blowing its seeds into the wind and making wishes, spreading its joy to enjoy. Until it grows in a place you don’t want it. A weeds roots grow deep as it grips all the soil that is in reach of its grasps. If you have ever pulled up a weed of any type you know of the destruction it leaves behind. Clumps of missing soil in the flowerbed, neighboring flowers uprooted, and a unappealing display of disarray. What’s truly disturbing is that in some cases, some weeds can blend into with what you’ve planted.
If we looked at the world today it would be very discouraging to see supposedly flowers transform into weeds right before our eyes. And like all novice gardeners, the immediate response is rip them all up. But this shouldn’t happen to the body of Christ so openly and before an audience looking for a reason to cry to Pilate. The followers of Christ was told once by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians the 6th chapter about bring legal matters against each other before unbelieving judges. In such situations where a believer has acted unjustly towards another believer, Paul saw this as a moral failing that goes against the Gospel and the Christ we server. Then to present this moral failing before the world to see kills our witness and brings shame to the power of Christ and His gospel. Those that are among us who live a lifestyle like this are weeds among the wheat and bear no fruit that would benefit the body. Pulling them up by our own might may do more harm than good.
In the parable Jesus tells, A man plants good seed into his field only to have his enemies plant weeds into the very same field while he sleeps. The man shows wisdom in telling his servants to wait until the wheat itself is ready for harvest. In waiting for the harvest, it keeps the growth of the wheat uninterrupted. At harvest the wheat will be reaped so uprooting the weeds would not harm what will eventually be tilled. In some cases those weeds may not always be distinguishable from what is real until the true bears fruit and it reveals what’s really inside. We have to come to the realization that there are works in this world that truly can only be done by God and works that only God should do. We can’t stop those who call themselves Christian for doing so. There is a vileness that is spewed from the mouth of those who proudly wave the banner of “Christianity”. It is from the depths of their true heart that this toxic hate comes flowing to the surface. We try to distance ourselves or correct them; only to have those who seek answers turn away from the gospel. I find it ironic that we boldly hold on to and defend a label that we didn’t give to ourselves. It has never been important to have a label to set ourselves a part from the world. In the Old Testament, our Lord God set the people of Israel a part from the world by way of customs, dress, diet, laws, lifestyle, attitudes, and religious rituals as well as many others outlined in the Laws of Moses. Their problems started with valuing those works and a label. The followers of Christ were distinguished by their love for their internal community and the outside world they interacted with. All of which is driven by God’s love for us; this produces a heavenly fruit of the Spirit. Thus its best to bear fruit to set ourselves a part from those who don’t. Maybe, just maybe what we are seeing is harvest time…
Anointed Place Ministries 