The Good and the Not-So-Good

In my shaded front yard, there is some grass that is stubborn enough to try growing where in a few more days there will be almost no sunshine. Even wild violets and white clover (weeds to real lawn people) are more desirable, I think, than the weedy grass that sticks up more than a foot above anything else. I have elected to deal with it by grubbing it out by hand. Wouldn't it be easier to spray the whole area with Roundup and start over? Yes, it might, but there are some things growing—like the vinca minor I planted as ground cover last year, and the violets and clover until I'm ready to replace them. I don't want to destroy what I've already done by getting rid of everything.

That reminded me of Jesus' parable about the tares (weeds) and wheat:

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.” Matthew 13:24-30)

The problems in our society are so obvious and so serious that some people would like to just pull up our educational system, our politicized government, and even our religious institutions by their roots. As it is now, they believe, things are hopeless. But the result of such action—were it even possible—would be sheer chaos. No, we sometimes have to let the "weeds" grow too or else we will destroy what is good and necessary in our effort to eliminate the undesirable.

God will eventually sort out the weeds. We can trust Him with that job.

MaryMartha

Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/