The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
God made all things and saw that they were good. He sowed good seed in his field. Hence the question: Whence evil? The answer: not from God, but from his enemy. Yet this poses other questions, just as the serpent's very existence in Eden posed questions for Adam and Eve. Was this being a genuine rival to the sower of the seed? Could he actually bring the sower's plans to ruin? The very fact of his presence, and of the existence of evil generally, seemed to suggest a limit to God's power. Why would the serpent be present if God could have prevented it? Why would there be evil in the world if God could have made one without it? If we are honest we will probably admit that we sometimes find it hard to believe in the absolute power and goodness of our God while we are yet surrounding by and ourselves experiencing suffering.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
The enemy made life and growth more difficult for the wheat. But he was unable to uproot it or to destroy it entirely. His own works were able to survive because they were so intertwined with the good that the sower was doing that one could not be easily extricated from the other. Evil is always parasitic on the good. It cannot not thrive on its own as though it were some contrary competitive force. Therefore a 'rip and replace' strategy was untenable. One could not remove evil without doing damage to the integrity of those crops that were good and desirable. In the first place, it wasn't always immediately clear which was which. This reflects the fact that our own lives are ultimately undetermined before the harvest time of judgment. It takes time and for the distinctions between the weeds and the wheat to become clear. And while God himself could determine the difference at any time it was not possible for the slaves of his household to do so. In trying to eliminate all weeds they would probably uproot some wheat as well. Even if the wheat wasn't uprooted entirely, tearing asunder its entanglement with the weeds would invariably cause damage. For those of us who hope to be proved wheat at harvest time we are meant to grow by means of the freedom we have been given. Other people can't merely turn us to saints by force. But God is different. His miraculous power is such that, when harvest time comes, he can burn away from us all that is not an intended part of his harvest while leaving the core of who we are intact.
If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire (see First Corinthians 3:15).
But could not the master have ensured that the enemy never entered the field in the first place? When the slaves are astounded at the appearance of the weeds the master tells them, "An enemy has done this" without sounding surprised or having to first go and investigate. It must be that he allowed this to happen as a part of a larger plan that was obscure to the slaves. Rather than defeating the enemy immediately he would deliver a greater defeat by using what the enemy intended for evil to bring about something good. Indeed, we know that God only permits evil to bring about a greater good. Do we always see this good from the narrow horizon of plants still growing in the field? No. In fact, to us all the presence of evil seems to accomplish is draining the life from the wheat, causing it to become apparently weaker and less resilient than would otherwise be the case. But we know that the harvest is coming. And we trust that when it comes the reason why God permitted the presence of the weeds will become clear. The fruit that results will somehow be better and greater than it would have otherwise been. Thus, the feast at which the fruit is enjoyed, will more than make up for whatever we must endure to reach that point.
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
God made all things and saw that they were good. He sowed good seed in his field. Hence the question: Whence evil? The answer: not from God, but from his enemy. Yet this poses other questions, just as the serpent's very existence in Eden posed questions for Adam and Eve. Was this being a genuine rival to the sower of the seed? Could he actually bring the sower's plans to ruin? The very fact of his presence, and of the existence of evil generally, seemed to suggest a limit to God's power. Why would the serpent be present if God could have prevented it? Why would there be evil in the world if God could have made one without it? If we are honest we will probably admit that we sometimes find it hard to believe in the absolute power and goodness of our God while we are yet surrounding by and ourselves experiencing suffering.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
The enemy made life and growth more difficult for the wheat. But he was unable to uproot it or to destroy it entirely. His own works were able to survive because they were so intertwined with the good that the sower was doing that one could not be easily extricated from the other. Evil is always parasitic on the good. It cannot not thrive on its own as though it were some contrary competitive force. Therefore a 'rip and replace' strategy was untenable. One could not remove evil without doing damage to the integrity of those crops that were good and desirable. In the first place, it wasn't always immediately clear which was which. This reflects the fact that our own lives are ultimately undetermined before the harvest time of judgment. It takes time and for the distinctions between the weeds and the wheat to become clear. And while God himself could determine the difference at any time it was not possible for the slaves of his household to do so. In trying to eliminate all weeds they would probably uproot some wheat as well. Even if the wheat wasn't uprooted entirely, tearing asunder its entanglement with the weeds would invariably cause damage. For those of us who hope to be proved wheat at harvest time we are meant to grow by means of the freedom we have been given. Other people can't merely turn us to saints by force. But God is different. His miraculous power is such that, when harvest time comes, he can burn away from us all that is not an intended part of his harvest while leaving the core of who we are intact.
If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire (see First Corinthians 3:15).
But could not the master have ensured that the enemy never entered the field in the first place? When the slaves are astounded at the appearance of the weeds the master tells them, "An enemy has done this" without sounding surprised or having to first go and investigate. It must be that he allowed this to happen as a part of a larger plan that was obscure to the slaves. Rather than defeating the enemy immediately he would deliver a greater defeat by using what the enemy intended for evil to bring about something good. Indeed, we know that God only permits evil to bring about a greater good. Do we always see this good from the narrow horizon of plants still growing in the field? No. In fact, to us all the presence of evil seems to accomplish is draining the life from the wheat, causing it to become apparently weaker and less resilient than would otherwise be the case. But we know that the harvest is coming. And we trust that when it comes the reason why God permitted the presence of the weeds will become clear. The fruit that results will somehow be better and greater than it would have otherwise been. Thus, the feast at which the fruit is enjoyed, will more than make up for whatever we must endure to reach that point.
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