"'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.'"

Matthew 13:28-29

In this parable, Jesus used a familiar agricultural reality to illustrate the difficulty of distinguishing between genuine and false disciples. The weeds to which Jesus referred were, in all likelihood, a kind of ryegrass known as darnel. Not only was darnel poisonous, but also early in its life it was indistinguishable from wheat. Thus a farmer couldn't get rid of the darnel until the time of harvest, when wheat and darnel would finally look different from each other.

This parable should not be used to make us question our salvation. If we have truly put our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, then we are wheat and will be gathered into the final harvest. The Parable of the Weeds should be used to caution us against judging others with respect to their faith. Some Christians spend an inordinate amount of time and energy criticizing and condemning other believers. This we should avoid, realizing that such judgment is reserved for God alone in the last days.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you find yourself judging other Christians? Whom? Why? What might help you to leave this sort of judgment to the Lord?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, for some reason, many Christians try to pull out the weeds before the right time. We can exhaust ourselves judging our fellow believers, deciding who's in and who's out. Forgive us, Lord, for our presumption, for doing that which is yours alone to do.

Yes, we are to be careful in discerning truth from falsehood. And, yes, we are to hold each other accountable to live out our faith in this world. But may we do so without a critical or haughty spirit. Help us to be as gracious to those with whom we disagree as you have been to us. Amen.