There’s an aggravation that all gardeners and ground keepers face. No matter how careful in soil preparation and decisions choosing the right seeds or seedlings, no matter how well the area is irrigated or how kindly the sun shines, weeds are inevitable. It takes vigilance of a sort to keep them away either by pulling them out by their roots or utilizing a form of chemical warfare. Allowing these unwanted plants space to grow seems counterproductive to the work that has gone in and the hope of produce to come.

Good with Evil

Characteristically, that’s exactly what Jesus proposes. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” The disciples ask for clarification. It’s a simple story. Jesus came to plant good seed in the world, and those who have received his message are good seed. As it is though, in the world are also those who would destroy his message, planted by the evil one, that is, Jesus’ antithesis sometimes known as the Devil. The two seeds, good seed and the bad seed which would choke out the good seed, are permitted to exist side by side until end of the world, when the angels will remove this cause of evil leaving only the good seed in the kingdom.

Now most stories of good and evil build up to big battles. In all the fighting and clashing of power, both sides suffer big losses. Apparently though, Jesus does not want to risk harm for the cause of good, even when the predicted outcome is for good to triumph. So may the heroes of Marvel lay down their superpowers for the time being. Take a realistic view and do the best you can in the meantime. That’s just the way things are going to be for a while.

Question of Good and Evil

The cosmic questions of good vs. evil are not going to be answered today. But the personal issues and the greater issues of humanity must find a way to negotiate the question in our immediate time. Another way of saying it is,

“GOD, what is going on here!”

Take a deep breath and rant away. Tell God all that’s wrong in the world and in your world. Take as much time as you need. Just remember the three rules of anger: no one gets hurt, nothing gets broken, and you don’t get in trouble. Stay in those boundaries and let it fly. God is God and big enough to take it.

Done? All right, now think about this. Cheatgrass is a weed known in many parts of the world. It starts out growing like normal vegetation, but it eventually becomes invasive and is known as a noxious weed. Its prolific seed production and rapid growth make it difficult to destroy. The best efforts to do so can also harm desirable vegetation and are not necessarily organic friendly. Make the connection yet?

Look at it like this: sometimes what looks good is later revealed to be not-so-good. You choose __________. (Healthy tans, white refined flour and sugar, tobacco, prescription pain killers, “safe” herbicides, etc.?) What should happen when the righteous lifestyles of “good” people based on privileges unjustly oppress others? Or when centuries of anger explode such that someone does get hurt, things are broken, and people are in big trouble. Not to point fingers here, but what should happen when the bad seed has mixed into the DNA of the good seed? If the workers pull out the good-bad seed-weed, would much be left to harvest?

Separating Good and Evil

If you’ve read this parable story as one of God’s condemnation on the evil in the world, be very careful. We aren’t perfect. That’s why Jesus had to come in the first place so we would see ourselves for who we are and what needs to change, to be reversed in ourselves in the eyes of God. Pertinent here is the human tendency to condemn that in others which we don’t like about ourselves. Controlling people don’t like controllers, the ambitious are threatened by those who self-promote, the self-righteous have problems with honest convictions contrary to their own, and so forth. That doesn’t even cover those actions our society generally agrees shouldn’t happen. In others words, if you examine yourself closely enough, if you are willing to pull back the onion layers of who you think you are in this somewhat dysfunctional world, you very well may find the seeds of noxious weed in yourself.

That’s why there’s this time delay. In the end, evil will be weeded out. Those who reject the farmer and his sacrificial giving and instead promote the worst the world can devise will be identified. Be aware as well, judgementalism is not the same as accountability. Certainly, we should hold each other to moral and civil standards today. 

Harvest of Good, Not Evil

Interestingly, cheatgrass is highly flammable, and sometimes it takes controlled burning to be rid of it. But Jesus is saying, not now. Jesus wants to save the good seed certainly. Yet, within us all is the need for time; seeds don’t spout immediately. Germination is necessary for growth. In that germination, the basic plant is formed, wheat or weed. Jesus wants the weedy part of lives to be separated out, for all that forms our regrets to be destroyed eternally. The angels one day will harvest the good growth that remains to “shine like the sun”, like wheat waving in the fields.

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who plants good seed in his field.”

Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43

Subscribe to The Trouble with Jesus Blog Here.