The Good Ole Days
Every person’s idea of the “good ole days” varies. For some, it is sitting outside on the porch (or patio) with family enjoying a restful evening; for others, it might be the days before health issues confounded us; others, the tender caress of a child after work. The “good ole days” are our idea of a peaceful world.
Today I wonder if we have lost a connection with that world. Violence fills our news; we worry about our children if their out of our yard; we drive cautiously, concerned about a crazy driver as we go to work. Sometimes it causes me to wonder, “Where is God?” Then I remember this parable from the Gospel of Matthew.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So, the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not plant good seeds in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:24-30).
When the workers asked if they should pull out the weeds the owner replied, “No, because you will also uproot the wheat.” (Matthew 13:27-30.) Tares, Beard Darnell, was a poisonous grass that looked exactly like wheat until the fruit appeared. The tare roots grew unseen underground and intertwined with the roots of the wheat plant. Pulling up the poisonous plant also uprooted the actual wheat.
As tares intertwined their roots with the wheat, so the evil of our world wants to invisibly attach itself to our thinking. The things we see, hear, and think leave an impact upon us. Left unchecked, it forms an unbreakable hold on our lives. It is only an abiding love from God that can break the connection.
We have a spiritual enemy that only wants to kill, steal, and destroy. Who’s purpose does our angry outbursts serve? Who’s purpose is served when the outburst leads to violence?
The Lord God will give everyone opportunities—even the tares of our world—to trust in Him Eventually, though, the tares of the world will suffer the consequences.
Christian, stay strong! In times of strife, strive to be one that brings peace into the lives of others. Reflect on Paul’s admonition The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6). Find peace and rest for your soul in God’s abiding love.
Christian, stay strong.
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