There is so much we don’t understand about the mysteries of God’s Kingdom. It’s no wonder Jesus used parables. They give us pictures—snapshots—of what the Kingdom looks like in the middle of real life and in an imperfect church. I’m not trying to be heretical here, but let’s put in some everyday words. What does God’s Kingdom of heaven look like here on earth? Even better, What does it feel like in the middle of our busy schedules and stress, our anxieties and ambitions, our hopes and disappointments? Paul reminds us in Romans 8 that, as life rushes along, there is a spiritual trajectory underneath it all. Some people are being quietly pulled along by an unseen force that leads toward decay, destruction, and separation from God. Many don’t even realize it’s happening. A friend of mine recently sent me an album of American rap to listen to. He said it's important to listen to the lyrics of today's youth because, their aspirations and experiences are all there. But the question is: "
where is it all leading them to?" That’s why Paul talks about us needing to be “rescued” and adopted as children of God—brought out of that hidden drift and into a new family, a new direction. And here’s where it gets interesting—and uncomfortable. The moment we talk about “children of God,” we’re recognizing that there are those who are not living as God’s children. Scripture is very clear about this. Jesus names it directly in the parable of the wheat and the tares.
In that story, a farmer plants good seed in his field. But later, weeds show up among the wheat. The servants are ready to pull the weeds out, but the master stops them: [“leave them alone for now. If you start yanking out weeds, you’ll damage the wheat too. Let them grow together, let them enjoy the same soil, same sunshine and rain and at the right time, there will be a final separation.”] That’s unsettling, isn’t it? Because it’s a story about us. It forces us to ask:
which seed do I resemble? What kind of fruit is my life really producing? Jesus’ explanation is simple: Our behaviors—our lived patterns over time—show which category we belong to.
Either our trajectory is moving toward God and his life, or toward death and destruction. There is no middle way no matter how we wish it. The “
good seed,” Jesus says, are people whose lives produce fruit that looks like God’s heart: love, healing, grace, and truth. They work hard to treat others as they themselves would want to be treated. They feed the hungry, protect the vulnerable, tell the truth, and promote peace and justice. They don’t pretend they have no sin; they seek God’s forgiveness in repentance. They also forgive others and make effort at reconciliation, even when it’s hard. The “
bad seed” are those whose lives, again and again, produce harm. They are about exploitation, abuse, deceit, and corruption. They force change but God doesn’t. Notice something important here: Scripture won’t ask, “But did you mean well and yet things turned bad?” No, it points to the outcome! Someone was harmed, crushed, misled. Harm is harm, and that is the mark of a bad seed. That should stop us in our tracks, especially if we are tempted to think, “
I’ve never really hurt anyone.” Whenever our repeated choices harm those around us, we are, in effect, behaving more like weeds than wheat. Don’t let weeds grow unchecked in your own garden. Pull out choices that are harming others even when our world is more and more insensitive to it as long as there are interests to protect.
The mysteries of God’s Kingdom are amazing. They are found in our homes, our conversations, in our gardens, (whichever ones you water the most), they are also found our prayers and our Bible study (just like the Maggi studied the star leading them to Bethlehem.) We have a responsibility to create an environment around us where the good seed can flourish. That starts in simple ways: speak kindly, bless rather than curse, tell your family you love them and mean it. God calls us to set the tone of his Kingdom in our homes.
So here is the invitation: Become wheat. Live as a child of God not just by what you say, but by what you are becoming and what you do in Christ!
Amen.
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