The Testing of the Wheat

Announcements:

• No potluck next Sunday! We will be celebrating that venerable liturgical holiday: Super Bowl.
• We were able to help several local families recently with church funds. If you would like to contribute to that it would be greatly appreciated, just see Vivian.
• Saturday February 5: Chicken Dinner and Auction benefiting Scott Phillip will be from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Rodeo Community Center.

Praise Reports:

• Elaine sold all of her goats that she needed to and is very thankful.
• Sandra plans to move into the house in Noel in April! This is a praise for her and David and Shirley.
• Vivian, Sandra, Vanessa, Clara, and Abby worked on a luncheon at Harbor House for a group of ladies and everything went very well. 
• Ken, Joel, Aaron and others worked hard getting a new backboard up in the gym last week, thank you for serving their town.
• Pam's new medicine is extremely effective and healing the sores on her legs, praise God!

Prayer Requests:

• A young boy was recently killed on a school playground by a falling soccer goal. Please remember his family in your prayers. Read more here.
• A family the Augustins know has lost a father.
• Two children fell through the ice in Southwest City and drowned. Read more here.
• Mary is staying strong in her suffering, but pray for relief. 
• Vanessa's sister, Dixie, still needs prayer. Pray for all of Vanessa's family and for her as she tries to be a light to them.
• Pam has been having sinus troubles.
• Charlotte is scheduled to have surgery.
• Pray that the benefit for Scott Phillip will go well.
• Keep our nation in prayer.

Within Weeds, originally uploaded by PhotoVandal.

We all have those days: everything we touch breaks. All we have to do is walk into a room and  bam! things go wrong, people act up, and we're made miserable. Why does life have to be like that? Why are there terrorists, why are there cranky bank tellers, why are there taxes?

Let's get some insight and perspective from one of Jesus's parables: the wheat and the tares. In Matthew 13:24-30 we read the old story of the enemy who comes and sows weeds in the man's wheat field. The servants want to pull up the weeds but the master says, "No, 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." The explanation of the parable is in Matthew 36-43. The field is the world, the wheat are the people of the Kingdom, the weeds are the people of the evil one, the enemy is the Devil, the harvesters are angels. This is what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like.

Immediately we see something interesting: the children of the evil one are in the Kingdom of Heaven. Why? Looking at God's concern, purpose, and goal we can get a better idea.

God's perspective: What is God's main concern? John 6:37-39 says that God's will is that Jesus should lose none of those given to Him, but raise them up on the last day. The owner of the field doesn't want to lose any wheat. 

God's purpose: God wants to test His people. Look at what he did to the Israelites when they didn't root out all of the Canaanites. In Judges 2:21-22 we read that God left those nations to test His people. These pockets of evil in the Promised Land were used by God to strengthen and prove his people. 

God's goal: In Matthew 13:42-43 the wicked are burned and the righteous shine like the sun in the Father's kingdom. 

How are we going to be strengthened and sanctified if we are not tried by evil first? We all want the prize without suffering for it, we want the A+ without studying, so to speak. But God doesn't work like that--like it or not we must be pressured and stressed by the weeds around us. God wants to get us to the point where we long for Him and His righteousness, and how else will we get there but by living in the filth and muck for a while?

Our perspective: Too often the perspective of the wheat is, "Oooh, keep those nasty weeds away from us! We'll be tainted!" That is not God's idea of a learning experience. In fact, you'll find that the more you try to separate yourself from evil people, the more weeds will work their way in. We should see the weeds as instruments of God to test our faith.

Our purpose: We must learn to deal with the weeds of this world. Take to heart James 1:2-3,  "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." Thank God that He is patient with us! But If we want Him to be patient with the wheat, we must let Him be patient with the weeds as well. 

Our goal: What really matters is how we are when our time comes. In Ezekiel 18:20-24 we read that it doesn't matter at all how a man "used to be", but how he is right now. God's eyes are on the end result. Where are ours?