Jesus once told a story about tares (weeds) which grow up in a field that God has planted with good seed. The servants of the landowner asked if they should go and pull up the weeds. (That, by the way, would be my choice in the matter.) “‘But he said, “No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them.”‘” (Matthew 13:29)
Of course the story is one of the “what is the kingdom of God like parables” and I could never understand the point of that one. What did it mean that the good seed might be uprooted with the tares? Finally I think God showed me a practical example.
I knew a young girl who was a good seed living in a family of weeds. Her environment was against her in many ways. I saw that she didn’t deserve to be among tares but there she was. Then I saw something else: even the weeds provided practical necessities of life like shelter, food, and schooling as she was on her way to adulthood. Uprooting her tares would have negatively disrupted her life more than letting them alone. In fact, those tares actually gave her life.
Tares are embedded in our field in such a way that they are useful to God. He allows coexistence knowing their ultimate end. At harvest, the tares will be burned but the full ripe wheat (us) will be gathered in his barn.
Perhaps you have questioned why God leaves you sitting in the middle of a weed patch. Maybe that’s why.
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