Jesus starts this section of the Parable of the Sower with
the statement, “the King of Heaven is like a man.” He did not say the Kingdom
of Heaven is “like a place.” I immediately had to focus my mind toward His
comparison of this kingdom principle to a man’s experience and not the
experience of a physical kingdom, as its own entity. (In fact, He tells the
Pharisees in Luke 17:21 the Kingdom of God is within you.)
In this parable, the owner of a field planted good seeds. An
enemy came by night and sowed weeds in the field while everyone slept. His
servants first noticed the weeds when the plants began to sprout and questioned
the quality of the seeds. The owner immediately recognized an enemy had
attacked his resources to destroy him. At this point in the plants’ growth
cycle, the roots of the weeds are intertwined with the roots of the wheat. His
reapers must wait until the plants grow to maturity before separating them to
avoid destroying the crop. This tactic protects the owner’s investment.
I am blessed by the owner’s solution to let the sprouts go
together. He is confident the weeds will not consume or contaminate the wheat
as they grow together. He also knows the wheat can be easily separated from the
weeds once the plants mature. He can turn into good what his enemy meant for
evil, even in the midst of weapons formed against him!
Likewise, the Lord’s attitude toward the condition of my
inner field gives me confidence in my right standing in Jesus and the power of the Grace of God. My Heavenly Father is
willing to let the field of my soul produce good crops and bad crops. He is
confident that His plan of salvation will keep the good seeds He planted in me
before the foundation of the world. I am a Kingdom resource with value and His
investment.
It is amazing how I am not aware of a bad seed buried in me
until a situation arises that water the seed and it begins to sprout. Some
weeds sprout quickly and I can easily deal with them. Other weeds take a long
time to mature because my good seeds (character, faith, etc.) take time to
mature as well.
In the maturity stage, Holy Spirit can easily discard the weeds and allow my good seeds to conform and transform me into the image of Jesus. Remember wheat has a purpose and value. It is food for the people and me. Therefore, after harvesting my inner field, my Kingdom Resource Value (KRV) increases on the earth. In spite of those darn weeds in my inner field, my KRV increased perpetually. Only in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father can a contaminated resource bring forth a good and valuable crop.
Our heavenly Father ends each season by harvesting a
successful crop from our inner field. Now it is time for Him to water the inner
field in preparation for the next crop. This is not something we participate in
after a harvest. He causes it to rain on our inner field while we rest from the
harvest. It is His good pleasure to infuse us with Kingdom resources during this
time to start the seed germination process again.
This fall season I encourage you to take a drive to view a
farm where some type of crop is produced (corn, soybeans, flowers, etc.). The
land is so peaceful during this time of year. It has entered into its rest to end
this season and everything around it is peaceful as well. Shouldn’t we rest our inner field after a
season of maturing in the Lord instead of anxiously anticipating what type of
bad seeds will sprout in us next season?
In addition, after a harvest, is a time when we should bask in our Father’s love. His wisdom has seen us through another cycle of life on this planet. His steadfast love has nurtured us through another season. He withheld no good thing from us. Let us peacefully love on our Father during this fall season as He has loved us.
Song to Share: Your Steadfast Love by Dave Moen
Song to Share: Your Steadfast Love by Dave Moen