By David ReayMonday 8 Nov 2021LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’” (NLT)
We can very easily make statements that put some people in the “Christian” box and others in the “non-Christian” box. How can we be sure those people are in the right box? This parable reminds us that it may not be so simple. Jesus warns against premature judgements: he is the one to make final judgements because we are unable to do so.
How do you know your church leader, your favourite speaker or writer, your long time friend is a Christian? Jesus tells us that not all who simply say the right things are his followers. And we are warned that merely doing good works does not earn us God’s favour. Just because someone holds a position or has a reputation does not put them automatically into the Christian box.
Of course we have to form some conclusions, offer some assessments. We consider the words, the beliefs, the pattern of life of others and we might think we can safely put them in the right box. But even so, we need to be prepared for surprises in the age to come. Our confident or tentative categorisations may be mistaken. And we are not the final judges.
Some people with whom we have sharp differences of opinion on matters of faith and life, may be true Christians in Jesus’ eyes. And those with whom we share common prejudices and passions may end up hearing those terrible words, “I never knew you”. So let Jesus sort things out, and in the meantime make our own “boxes” both flexible and conditional.
Blessings,
David
Support Your Hope 103.2
Make today your day to unite in hope
There is hope for a better day tomorrow, for a better future for your family, your friends, your neighbourhood. Hope for a world in which love overcomes fear – and people are not divided but instead unite.
