Are You a Wheat or a Weed?

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, `Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?' He answered, `An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he replied, `No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”  (Mt. 13:24-30)

Not everyone is a Christian. Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is truly elected by God's grace. The world is full of grain bearing wheat as well as weeds that bear no fruit. Jesus knows this. It is a part of God's plan. We are called to continually sow the Word of God to all people so those who may be called by God will hear His saving Word regenerating their hearts. (Rom. 10:17) The enemy is out there too filling the world with people who have no intention of surrendering to the will of God. It is not our job to judge who those people are but to continually keep our eyes on the things above. (Col. 3:1-4) Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead. He will know who has born fruit worthy of repentance. (Mt. 7:21-23) Until then, let us each take responsibility for our own discipleship. Let us daily pick up our cross and follow Him. (Lk. 9:23) Let us not look to the left or the right (Joshua 1:7-8) but look ahead to the cross, the means of our salvation inviting others to receive salvation that can only be offered through Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior.

"The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!"  (Mt. 13:37-43)

The Plumb Line of God

A Plumb Line is a builder's tool that gauges the trueness of a structure. Is the wall truly perpendicular to the ground. Are the bricks aligned straight to each other? The prophet Amos saw a plumb line and the King of Israel saw that his kingdom did not measure up to the judgment of God. His response was to ask the prophet to go south and prophesy to Judah. Of course this only removed Israel from the hearing of the word. It did not remove God’s judgment.

How do we know if we measure up to God? By hearing His Word. Jesus states that our faith is like a structure built on a firm foundation. Jesus says, “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.” (Lk. 6:46-49)

Let us hear the word of God and be doers as well! (James 1:19-25) Then our hearts will measure up to God’s judgment and our faith will be built upon the sure foundation of Jesus our Lord! As Isaiah promised, “Whoever believes will not be in haste. And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line:...” Isaiah 28:16b, 17)

Dear Pastors, Quit Feeding the Goats!

The parable of the sheep and goats (MT. 25:31-48) is not only a warning on serving Christ in the most humble, it is a lesson on where our focus should be in our parish ministry!

We know how the parable begins. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "

Most of us know how this parable ends. The sheep served the least of Jesus' brothers and sisters and did not know it but were rewarded with the promised Kingdom. The goats did not serve the least and claimed ignorance. They were were cast into the fires of hell. Too often I have heard sermons on the social aspects of this parable. But this is a parable of separation and judgement. The goats are mixed in with the sheep and there is no help for them. This is a parable of judgement. It follows two other parables on judgement.

Goats and sheep are not the same. Goats eat anything. Sheep graze on grass and clover. Goats are independent whereas sheep depend on shepherds. To put this in terms of the parable, sheep are very dependant on the Good Shepherd, goats go their own way. To bring it to the present, goats and sheep are co-mingled. The sheep in our congregations need and want a daily diet of the Word whereas the goats will eat anything including false doctrines. And Jesus knows His sheep. He also knows the goats destined for eternal damnation. But how often do we pastors try to feed both sheep and goats?

Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my sheep!" He did not say "Feed my goats." Our apostolic authority rests in feeding the elect the Word of God. Goats, the reprobate, could care less! Yet, our parishes are filled with goats desiring to have their way, not God's way! Jesus often prefaced a parable with, "The Kingdom of God is..." Not once did He say, "The Democracy of God is..." Christ the King has decided who His sheep are. They will respond to godly preaching. Goats cannot become sheep. True conversion comes about when the lost sheep are found by the Good Shepherd and brought to green pastures and still waters. I have found that true joy in ministry comes when I focus on the responses of the sheep when they hear to voice of the shepherd and not on trying to meet every demand of the goats. Jesus does not waste His time on them, why should we?