Good Seed, Part 2
However, we have a problem. If we have good seed planted within us, then what do we do with evil, pain and suffering planted by the enemy. The enemy has sown “weeds among the wheat.” One commentary writes that "Tares" (KJV) or weeds (NIV) here are darnel, a poisonous weed organically related to wheat and difficult to distinguish from wheat in the early stages of its growth (Jeremias 1972:224).
Humanity’s goodness finds itself entangled when unwelcome guests slip in under the cover of darkness taking up the same space in our lives. The first line in Simon and Garfunkel’s song, “The Sound of Silence” speaks to how darkness influences our behavior. “Hello, darkness my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.”
In the late 1800’s there was a sickness going around in the Midwest where people were randomly dying during the summer months. People suspected the connection to be related to a plant cows ate, and the milk produced. When milk sickness broke out, Anna Hobbs studied the characteristics of the illness and noted the results in her diary. She determined that it occurred seasonally, beginning in summer, and continuing until the first frost. She noted that it was more prominent in cattle than in other animals and thought it might be due to a plant which the cattle were eating.
It turned out, as the roaming cows grazed, they ate the white snake root plant that has poisonous properties. Dr. Anna Hobbs told the farmers the cause and the result saved whole communities with this information.
In Matthew 13:28 we find out who sowed the bad seed, the enemy. The servants immediately want to act. They ask, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” The farmer say, “No. Let them grow together until harvest time.” “Grow together” in Greek is, “synauxano.” It is used to describe a situation where you intentionally raise two things together to get the result that you want.
We live in a season where we think we must iradicate anything uncomfortable or foreign. Suffering is one. Heartache is another. Injustice done to others is still another. Troublesome events. There are a few ways we try to do this. We wipe away the bad decisions from our minds acting as if nothing happened; or scrub out all those regrettable choices through rationalization. We believe we can act as if we live perfect lives among our loved one and friends, but we are miserable on the inside.
Right now, let us all take a breath and relax a bit. A clam spirit helps us listen to the truth God wants us to hear. In order to do this we will need to take a short walk through some those painfully tangled weeds to understand suffering’s purpose.
Fredrick Nietzsche wrote, “He who has a “why” to live for can bear almost any “how.” And Victor Frankel, a holocaust survivor, said, “Those without a why fall apart when the storms hit.”
Why should we acknowledge the hurt within us? When we observe the poisonous weeds sprouting around us, we are also allowing the good seed to flourish within us. (The kingdom of God within us). By asking the tough “why” questions, we find a way to live with them and press on toward the goal, harvest time.
Agathokakological. It is an adjective which describes a situation that is simultaneously both good and evil. The word encapsulates the intricate nature of human existence where light and darkness coexist within. It is the essence of life duality reminding us that perfection does not exist without imperfection. Jesus’ parable of the “Wheat and the Weeds” shows us how to live and view this paradox in our lives. One way to understand parable’s truth, “let them grow together,” is to embrace the complexities and contradictions and be transformed by them.
Pain that is not transformed is transmitted. An individual becomes more callous toward others, and the Golden Rule changes. It goes from “do to others what you would have them do to you,” to “do to others before they stick it to you.” Do you know why you take your anger out on the people you love? Your anger has not been transformed. The anger hides the hurt underneath; and this hurt negatively influences how we respond. The hurt also deadens the soul’s receptivity to God unless it dealt with properly.
Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall he added to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)”.
Seek God’s Kingdom knowing three truths:
1. Jesus sows good seed in the hearts of humanity;
2. Allow the wheat and weeds to grow together to get the results you want.
3. By asking the tough “why” question, we find a way to embrace life’s complexities.