The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds from Matthew 13:24-30 (The Message)
Jesus told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.
“The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn’t it? Where did these thistles come from?’
“He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.’
“The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’
“He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.’”
A Conversation
A Human: How can a good God allow so much injustice, treachery, violence, and pain to persist in the world?
God: Do you really want to know?
Human: Of course. I don’t understand. You say we should pray for your help, but people still suffer and die. It seems arbitrary who gets saved and who doesn’t.
God: Things are not often as they seem to be. Have you considered my teaching of the wheat and the weeds?
Human: I see it here, but I don’t really get it. If anything, it seems to say you’ve made some of us for salvation and others to burn in hell.
God: If that’s what you see, I’d say you didn’t have a very good English teacher. Note that the farmer only plants “good” seed. The prickly thistles come from the enemy.
Human: Okay, but then, why does the farmer tell the laborers not to bother pulling them out? I’m not much of a gardener, but I’m pretty sure weeding is supposed to be a good thing. Wouldn’t the crop grow better without the thistles?
God: Sure. But it’s much more complicated than that. Did you know that these thistles have a root structure so enmeshed in the soil, that pulling one out allows more to grow in its place? To eradicate this variety of weed would require dismantling the entire crop of wheat. I won’t do that. The wheat is too precious to me.
Human: But what about the story of Noah and the flood?
God: Actually, that’s a good case in point. Didn’t it seem logical that if there’s a problem with evil, the easiest thing is to wipe out all evil doers? But it turns out that humans don’t work like that.
Human: What do you mean?
God: Let’s go back to my parable about the wheat. It turns out that wheat – my humans – can only thrive in a certain type of soil – in other words, with “free will.” This soil is equally welcoming to wheat and thistles. No other kind of earth will grow anything.
Human: In other words, we’re stuck in this weedy field?
God: The wheat is still growing. But, yes, this is why the world is always a mishmash of good and bad. And this is why in each one of you, you will find my gifts – kernels of wheat flowering – side by side with your personal demons – thistles.
Human: Like I said, we’re stuck.
God: No. I’m still the farmer. I’m still interested in harvesting all my wheat. I see better even than you can, the horrible predicament you’re in. If you sharpen your vision, you will see my farm hands coming to your aid. But even when you don’t see them, never doubt how many ways I am cultivating your growth. I am orchestrating the sun, the rainfall, the irrigation, the aeration of the soil, the disbursement of fertilizer – everything.
Human: Maybe so, but some people have it worse than others.
God: I’m glad that you notice that. I want you to care about them, particularly the ones the weeds are trying to strangle.
Human: It isn’t fair though, how some people land in thick patches of thistles, while others have their way cleared before them.
God: I have not said that the field is even. I know more than you can fathom about the unfairness. And I realize you can’t understand why I can’t simply spray weed killer on the problems.
Human: That would definitely be easier.
God: It sounds easy, efficient, even logical. But it doesn’t work.
Human: Why not?
God: You would have to be me to understand it. You just have to trust me on this.
Human: It’s hard to do.
God: I know. But give me time. If you want understanding, I will weave it into your life. But I will only reveal to you your own story. I farm by cultivating each stalk individually.
Human: You know, you sound like a crazy kind of farmer, not pulling out weeds and caring for your crop one plant at a time.
God: I think you can say my ways are not your ways. But crazy or not, my ways work. Thistles are tough, but nothing is stronger than the love I have for my wheat.
With gratitude to blogger Lisa Black for this format inspiration.
2 Responses to A Conversation About Wheat and Weeds