Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“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?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 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.’” 

Matthew 13:24 – 29

What is Jesus saying?  In the parable of the different grounds that we just considered and thought about, the emphasis is on the receptivity of the ground into which the seed was sown.  This, his second story, is to be understood considering the first story – the receptivity (or lack of it) of the soils.

So, this story has a nice beginning.  A farmer had good seed, wheat, so he prepared the field and sowed the precious seed where it grew nicely, promising a good harvest.  The story is delightful.  But then, another issue arises, enemies seek to thwart the good effort by sowing malicious seed that wars against the wheat seed already planted.  The story does not tell us anything about the enemy or why he is so determined to harm the industrious and careful farmer.  I suppose Jesus left that up to our imaginations.

The problem is, however, what to do about it.  An obvious answer is to expose the enemy’s tricks and have him punished.  This is not even considered by the story-teller, Jesus.  The answer is to let both grow until it is clear which is the good plant and the bad plant.  Then remove the bad plants carefully, one stalk at a time, then bundle them up and burn them.  After that, harvest the good plants and rejoice.  The good seed will nourish the planter’s family and beyond.

This may, at first glance, look like the wrong approach because the unwanted plants will certainly rob the good plants of nourishment.  We leave that with the story teller. The point is not that there is evil in the world always warring against the good but God shows those who walk with him how to obtain a rich harvest, nevertheless.

As an aside, the story lets us know that as the two kinds of plants grow, it will become obvious to all which grain is good and which is bad.  Early on that is not as obvious!  So it is.

I love this story.

In our community we have a flock of 4 dozen or so robins who live together.  I do believe they are from the North.  Our nesters head south.  Here is one of the brave robins who are determined to live here this time of year. I admire their spunk, we used to say. Still do.

 “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Mathew 13:8 – 9

It is all worth the effort because some of the seed fell into good soil where it took root and grew into plants that produced a harvest of good grain, assuring good seed for the following season and plenty to use now. Why the difference?  It was the same farmer, the same seed, the same day!  Clearly, Jesus pointed out, the difference was in the readiness of the soil to receive the good seed and nurture it into full maturity at the time of harvest.

Because of my familiarity with the ways of God in Christ I find the parable heavy with meaning.  Jesus’ listeners, who presumably followed him because he performed one amazing miracle after another, had no idea what Jesus was talking about.  We have the privilege of hind-sight and teaching so that we not only see meaning in the parable but are amazed at the truth it uncovers.   We have the Holy Spirit to instruct us and to put the finger on the main points. Jesus uses the expression, “Whoever has ears, let him hear.”  We get these “ears” as a free gift of God’s grace.

From one seed – thirty.  From one seed – sixty.  From one seed – a hundred!  From one seed – nothing.  This they knew, no doubt, but maybe they did not realize that Jesus was including all of them in the scene.  What about them?  How about the seed that comes from above, into our soils?  Snatched up by the birds before they can sprout?  Failed to get its roots into fertile soil?  Show promise of growth but are choked out by parts of us that hate the seed?  Or produced an amazing crop that will provide food for now and seed for the future?  It is up to you, to me, to determine what we do with the seed of God’s grace.  We are the soils.

While Zel and Dani were here for a month holiday from Australia, Zel created this great blue heron on a large canvas.  I was totally impressed and asked him for permission to copy it for private use.  The detail brings out the personality of the bird.  That eye can detect the least movement in the water – a possible snack!

Zel and Dani are now in the air between here and Brisbane, Australia.  We loved their visit.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

Matthew 13:7

In one short sentence Jesus describes many of us – we receive the blessed seed with joy and great thanksgiving but find that if we are to allow the seed to penetrate our lives and lodge there as a blessed gift of God, we must do battle with the thorns that resist Jesus with a vengeance, thorns that are in us.

The thorns, those things that we hold dear but which militate against the Spirit of the Lord will not allow the seeds to produce fruit.  The precious seeds may sprout and put down some roots but the growth that is already there, and growing, does not give the new seed with its new life a chance to survive.  So it simply chokes out the seed and that is that.  It is as though the seed never fell in it at all.

In my career I have seen this as one of the major challenges we all face.  One of my close friends in Tanzania received the seed and it took hold, as we say.  But he felt that, according to the customs of his people, he should have a male heir that seemed unlikely with his wife so he added a wife the way the culture did it.  The good seed in him, the Gospel of Christ, hit a wall.  He got his second wife and lost his first blessing.

This resembles another believer who found that he could make money if he relaxed his moral standards a bit.  It was not long before he had money but no credibility.

This is not at all strange.  People who have received the living seed struggle to allow that seed to produce gracious fruit in life because some desire, or some practices, stand in the way.  Much too often, the good seed is overcome!  This is a huge challenge for the people of God.  For all of us.

Our granddaughter, Sasha, with Frank, her special friend, announced their engagement to be married.  Welcome, dear ones!

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Matthew 13:5 – 6

Some of the precious seed fell where it looked promising, the seed sprouted quickly, giving promise of a good crop.  Then a problem – the roots that must find nutrients for growth found none.  It was not that the seed was faulty, but the roots that the seed produced found no nutrients and so the growth could not be sustained.  Because the roots could find no place to lodge and get nourishment the seed dried up and died, along with its dangling roots.  A sad but true story.

I have discovered that many are drawn to Christ but then resist the challenge to allow the Spirit of Christ to penetrate their lives.  Jesus cannot live on the surface of life, but must permeate life to its depth.  It would be nice if everyone who is drawn to Jesus for one reason or another could receive Him!  Jesus is not an addition to life, but is foundational to life in the Spirit.  It is one thing to admire Jesus but quite another to allow him to make you his follower.

This is where many find themselves.  They want Jesus but they also have a life-full of wants that do not want Jesus.  A sad story but as common as can be, in all cultures in the world.

Isaac, bless his heart, gave us this Happy Anniversary Card that he created. We love the card and treasure our relationship with our Isaac, now in first grade.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.”

Matthew 13:1 – 4

Here we are, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, along with many people who are becoming aware of who their native son is, Jesus, Son of Joseph and Mary, of Nazareth.  He astounds them by his healing power and then speaks to them about the Good News of the Kingdom of God that he came to establish.

It resembles sowing precious seeds, a common scene in Palestine.  A farmer goes out to spread his precious seed, his hope for a harvest.  Some of the seed fell on hard places, unreceptive places, where birds, abundant in such scenes, ate the seeds at once.  To me, who knows little of farming, I see this as wasting seed.

Jesus who is telling the story did not fault the sower who just dropped some seed on hard ground.  I do. Why not make sure, I find myself thinking, that none of your precious seed lands on the hard path?  The problem lies with the farmer, I conclude.  Jesus felt for the farmer.

The story makes clear that some precious seeds fell on hard ground.  I assume that means that some of the precious seeds fell on hard hearts!  The problem was not with the seed, it was with the hard soil, the hard heart, so to speak.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone.  Christ died for all.  Christ is compassionate and loving.  No one is left out.  The fact that the ground does not welcome it does not mean that God will stop dropping seed there.

That is one kind of soil.  Others follow.  See you then.

Dani has the kind of mind that can see where pieces of a puzzle fit.  Here she and Anna Ruth work on another one.  Dani, bless her, will bear a child in the Spring time.  They will be at home in Brisbane, Australia, by then.  We enjoyed their month-long visit with us.  She and Zel are excited about starting a family!!  That has us excited as well.