Day Forty-three – Matthew 13:24-30

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you

And he said to them, “An enemy has done this!” The slaves said to him, “Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?” But he said, “No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.” Matthew 13:28-29

In the parable, when the servants of the landowner discovered and reported to him that weeds were growing alongside his wheat, he immediately discerned what happened, “An enemy has done this!” He did not blame the seeds, soil, or servants, but recognized the work of an enemy.

If you are used to sitting in church and hearing a preacher blame you for all the wickedness in the world . . . Fear not. Jesus knows you and that you want to walk with him. He knows the good and the bad. He knows when an enemy has tried to sabotage his work–and he lets it go (for now). He does not scorch the enemy’s weeds because he is not willing to take the risk of you becoming collateral damage.

We live and work within various social structures: schools, corporations, churches, and so on. Every structure to some degree has been infiltrated and compromised. There will never be a perfect society on earth as long as there is an enemy planting seeds of corruption. Once enlightened to this situation, we bring greater discernment to our involvment and influence in these systems.

We also discover how much more complicated and difficult it is to love our neighbor than what we first suspected.

O Jesus, we thank You for always watching over us. Your thoughtfulness is more than comforting, it is energizing. Today we will grow in the field where you have planted us, because we are nourished and sustained by Your grace.