Matthew 13:24-30

“And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’” vs. 27

From the beginning it has been apparent in the Church that not everyone is on the same page. While there have been countless saints and pillars, people who have taken the words of Jesus to heart and borne fruit in every area, there have also been more rascals and scoundrels that we could even imagine. Sometimes we even see those contrasts in a single family! This has been a perplexing problem for people of faith and various solutions have been suggested. One of the most popular has been to simply kick out the misfits and the evil-doers–from a human perspective such purges bring purity and eliminate unsavory influences. Indeed, church history is full of such attempts–it’s what the word “Puritan” represents. At times followers of Jesus have expended a ton of good energy in getting rid of the bad seeds in their midst–and the effort never turns out well. It’s just not the Church’s business or area of skill. We haven’t been called to be judges! Jesus’ parable of the weeds in the field provides perspective. The landowner tells the servants to quit worrying about the weeds–it’s not their job, and they’d do more damage than good. What a blessing it is when we simply focus on the good news and stop worrying about judgment! It makes us a lot more fun to be around!

Thought for the Day: What’s it like to hang out with Puritans?