Our daily reflections follow the M'Cheyne Bible reading plan, designed for those who want to read the whole Bible in one year. Each reflection focuses on one of the chapters from that day's readings. Darllenwch rhain yn Gymraeg.
Lord, open my ears to hear what you have to say to me; open my heart to love your word, and open my mind to understand your truth.
This is another parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. The world is a very mixed bag: there’s good and evil, joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. Good people don’t get what they deserve, and neither do bad people – it all sometimes seems a bit random. But Jesus says that judgement is coming and one day there will be justice for everyone.
So at one level this parable is meant to comfort those who mourn or who rage against the way of the world. ‘Why are the wicked so prosperous?’ asks Jeremiah (12.1); we’d all like to know the answer. God knows, and there will be a reckoning – ‘God's people will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom’ (Matthew 13.43).
But there’s another way of reading this too; it’s also a piece of practical wisdom. Christians need to be careful that in our concern for faithful discipleship and right living we don’t do more harm than good. A church fellowship, for instance, might contain weeds as well as wheat – but insisting on people keeping all the rules we think are right can be very destructive. That’s not to say that we should allow gross sins to go unchallenged, but there are many areas where gracious kindness is a better response. ‘Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest,’ says Jesus (verse 30); God will be the judge, not us.
God, forgive me if I’ve been too quick to judge. Help me to be kind and gracious, and to trust in your righteousness, not in my own, in my dealings with other people.
This reflection was written by Mark Woods, Bible Society's Editor
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