In these verses Jesus told three parables. First parable
is about wheats and weeds, second one is a parable on mustard seed and the
third is on leaven. All three parables center
on the theme of waiting. The farmer had to wait until harvest time and probably
felt impatient as he saw the tares growing along the wheats. The birds in the
second parable had to wait for the tiny mustard seed to grow into a shrub. And
the woman baking bread had to wait for the leaven to take effect in the whole
dough.
Calamities around the world are on the increase. On a
daily basis we learn of tragedies, earthquakes, typhoons, volcano eruptions,
impending wars, and the list can go on and on. In the light of all these
calamities, waiting is the last thing people want. If it is true that in Jesus
Christ, the Kingdom of God is loosening and gaining ground, then most people
would rather have it all right now. Who would want to wait for the culmination
of it?
The servants of the first parable want to go out and
pull out the weeds. Why wait till the harvest time? So they thought! However,
they failed to realize that things are not so simple and straight forward. In
uprooting the weeds there’s a possibility that the wheats would be uprooted as
well. At the heart of the parable about wheats and weeds, is the theme of
patience. God certainly would not enjoy watching His kingdom full of weeds
alongside the wheats. But He certainly wouldn’t want to declare the harvest too
early and thus destroy the wheat together with the weeds. His desire is for
everyone who is His, to be saved. That’s why Peter in his letters tells us why
Christ delays in His Coming, is because of God’s patience. He does not want
anyone to perish but all to come to repentance.
Like the growth of a plant and the leavening of the
dough, Jesus assures us that the Kingdom will surely come. The period of
waiting for it to come is not an indication of God’s passivity. Or that He does
not care. While evil and the work of darkness may be active, God is also
mysteriously working behind the scene. He still warns of the final overthrowing
of evil. And it will be on schedule. Meanwhile He is refining us, and with the help
of what’s happening, shapes our patience and brings out our best potential through
our tough times.
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