The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…a Man who Sowed Good Seed

Matthew 13:24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'”

As a person who loves to garden, this parable hits home.  I do my best to prepare the soil to have a weed-free garden and then it seems like overnight, an enemy comes and plants a bunch of weeds.  In the Kingdom of Heaven parable above, the wheat sprouted and grew and everything was fine!  Until…

Until that critical moment when the wheat formed heads. 

Heads of what? 

The next generation of wheat–fruit from his hard work.

Isn’t that what always seems to happen in our spiritual lives?  We’re just about ready to have a spiritual breakthrough or make a Kingdom impact in someone else’s life and then thud.  Problems.  Obstacles.  Weeds!

Not just weeds growing around the outside edges or in select clumps of total weediness.  Nope.  They’re spread throughout.  The owners servants didn’t see the good seed he planted. It seems they only saw the weeds.  To the owner, there was probably disappointment and frustration.  I experience this all the time in ministry.  Nothing ever seems to go as I plan it.  To the servants, they were analyzing the situation for its problems and not seeing the presence of the wheat.  It was still there.

Is the field half-wheat or is it half-weeds?  Plenty of bystanders are satisfied pointing out our shortcomings or failures to produce sufficient fruit.  Ministry partners will tell us we ought to give up.  Too many weeds to be worth it.  Stop wasting your time for so little visible reward!  But we must not give in to these voices.

In our spiritual journey, let’s not forget that when we encounter obstacles and frustrations as we’re nearing a breakthrough or a tipping point,

 There is still wheat. 

There is still wheat so persevere until the harvest.  The fruit–the next generation of wheat–is growing there.  It’s all about the next generation and it matters greatly.  It is still worth harvesting.  Kingdom work is always worth doing.  And we’ll always have an enemy coming against us and sometimes fellow workers who don’t see the wheat for the weeds.  They’ll do the enemy’s work of discouragement.  But the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed and harvested, irrespective of what enemies and obstacles and weeds arose.