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| Wheat n tares Linwood Berry |
Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” – Matthew 13:30
I love the parables of Jesus. But when I see the deeper meaning, especially when He explains it straight up like He does for the story of the wheat and tares, I shutter at the fact.
For example, a few things I understand from this one illustration is that just because you’re growing doesn’t mean you’re wheat. Both wheat and tares, those who accept and those who reject Jesus, are growing, and they’re growing side by side, as if they have everything in common; that is, until the wheat begins to mature. That’s when the differences become evident. Wheat produces fruit but tares produce nothing but fuel for the fire.
We are faced with a choice: choose Jesus or choose the evil one; there is no middle ground. It is a black and white; right or wrong decision. Furthermore, Jesus reminds us that true disciples-those who follow the kingdom message-must be prepared to pay the ultimate price for doing so (Matthew 13:20-22, 44-46).
Jesus will return to gather up His followers; the wheat. This is a sobering thought. I don’t know who the tares are around me, but I know that I don’t want anyone to be cast into the fire. I pray that God will bring those around me to Jesus real soon and that the fruit He produces in me will remind them of who He’s called them to be.
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