While Jesus was physically here on earth, he told many stories, or parables, as they were known then, and one of those parables, recorded in Matthew 13, was about a sower or a plowman sowing seeds. In those days, the sower went out to throw the seeds in the prepared ground, and he really took a lot of time doing so.
In the story, the farmer sowed the seeds and looked after them well.
"NO!" said the farmer, and I quote from Matthew 13, "Because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters to first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into the barn."
Apparently, there is a plant called Lolium Temulentum, or simply put, Darnel, and it is a weed that looks just like wheat, especially when the plant is really young. BUT as it grows its roots all tangle up with other plants, especially wheat plants, so that is why the farmer said to let all the plants grow together, and we will worry about separating them all when harvest comes.
Well, here we are all together in this world - it's astounding, isn't it! - all of us here all together and all doing our own things. Just like in the story/parable of the weeds and the wheat that Jesus told.
Nice people and not-so-nice people, helpers, and some that don't want to help. All living together in a world of contrast, nicety, loveliness, and nastiness, all together and surviving bit by bit - well, sometimes anyway.
Nastiness can be nasty. Well, yes, it can be. I have been nasty many times, and also I have been on the receiving end of nastiness, which in itself can be absolutely horrible and astounding.
I remember well when my daughter's first child was born. She had a Christian dedication for her little baby boy, and the family came to the church to watch and support her and her husband through the whole ceremony.
That was fine, and lots of invitations were flying around because afterwards, a picnic was included.
All went well until my brother and his wife came across my daughter by accident. They certainly ripped into her because they weren't invited to the dedication ceremony twelve months before. Why weren't they invited? That's a good question! Maybe because they had never acknowledged the birth of the baby and completely ignored the whole thing.
That sort of thing can be forgotten and ignored, or it can be hurtful, upsetting, and appear pretty unkind.
In lots of ways, I guess we all can be in similar sorts of situations. We can be on the receiving end of things like this, or sadly, we can be the instigator. Regardless, our lives can change with just a small intervention in our routine.
What does God think of forgiveness? Probably something we really have to think about. Forgiveness can be a real trial, and it can be really hard to do. Jesus Himself forgave so many people, and he did so while dying on the cross surrounded by a lot of people ridiculing, laughing, and mocking him so much, and yet he asked His Father in heaven to forgive the people around him.
It's really hard, especially when you have a falling out with someone whom you hardly know. Or maybe a relative or another person who is completely different from you. Maybe someone who is really estranged from you entirely and yet is really close to one of your friends.
What does God say about forgiveness? In the Bible, in Ephesians 4:32, it says, "So be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."
I know it's certainly not easy to forgive anyone. It can be really hard. But then, having to ask for someone's forgiveness can also be really hard.
Regardless of whether that person accepts your apology or not, that is really all you can do.
This brings me to what happened in our own family:- Here was the baby boy, all beautiful and loving, and here also is the family excluded from the ceremony. What should we have done? Jesus said to forgive others, and that can be really hard to do, as mentioned above.
I feel maybe Jesus was trying to tell us not to judge others and to leave all that up to God when the time comes. I know his disciples were a tad confused and asked Him once again to interpret the story.
Back to Jesus's parable/story;- The first thing Jesus does is declare himself to be the sower, and the field in the story means the whole world. Jesus, the sower, is bringing good news to everyone about giving our lives to God.
The enemy, Satan, sows all the bad weeds in the field; They are anyone who decides they want nothing to do with God at all. The harvest time is actually the end times when Christ will come and take His followers to be with him. It's good to read Matthew 37-43 to find out what will happen to all the unbelievers at the end times.
The bad weeds in the field also relate to all the bad things or sins that happen in the lives that we carry around with us, just like unforgiveness, as mentioned already in my own family. It is just one of many sins we carry around with us.
So what do we do? We first have to come to Jesus in a personal way and ask His forgiveness for all the sins we have committed in our lives. Actually, we were born into a world of sin, so we are all affected in so many scary ways. Sin rules all of our lives, and only coming to Christ can we rid ourselves of the past and even future sins. Really remarkable that Jesus took upon Himself our sins when He gave Himself up on Calvary to pay our price.
We all need to accept that we really can't stop sinning. God's amazing love and grace cover us, and when He gave his life for us, and we accepted His love for us and asked Him into our lives, then when we do sin, we can come to Him and ask Him to forgive us and lead us.
So many of us, when we first come to Christ, think we will live perfect and spotless lives from then on, but we have to accept the fact that we live in a sinful world, and once we do accept that fact, then we will know immediately when we have sinned, and we can come and ask God's forgiveness often and immediately.
Once we have come to Christ, sin actually loses its power over us, and we no longer feel we have to be superhuman and super holy to earn some sort of favour with God Himself. What Jesus did for us is totally enough, and all we have to do is accept what He did to save us for eternity
Once we come to Christ and ask Him into our lives to lead us then He will definitely change us and make us more and more like Jesus. That is exactly what He does and not us.
Hope to see you next time - Have a good week
