BellissiWarriors

Here is another story Jesus told: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

The farmer’s workers went to him and said, “Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?” 

“An enemy has done this!” the farmer exclaimed.

“Should we pull out the weeds?” they asked.

“No,” he replied, “you’ll hurt the wheat if you do.”

Matthew 13:24-29

Maybe this story resonates with you. Every good thing happening in your life seems to be accompanied by a host of setbacks. To keep moving forward is hard. It would be easy to make the struggle your focus, to let it run your life. But if you do, you’ll never get anywhere – your attention will be on the ground around you rather than the path ahead of you.

Most of the time, my default is to wish God would just wave a magic wand or say the word or do whatever it takes and make everything better. The problem is that this probably won’t prepare you or me for the life God is equipping us for. He is making you strong and brave. He is growing your faith, deepening your reliance on Him. He is wiser than I am, and His ways of accomplishing good in our lives are much better and more lasting than what I could come up with (Isaiah 55:8-9). I’m like the workers, who wanted to pull out the weeds. But God allows the weeds to remain in order to protect the wheat. It’s hard for me to see weedy circumstances as beneficial, but God’s perspective is much bigger. He has eternity in mind, while I’m focused on present circumstances. 

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

God plants seeds and the enemy plants weeds. That’s just the way it is.

Weeds need very little encouragement to grow. Wheat needs watchful care. How fortunate we are that our Father is the Gardener (John 15:1)! He does everything that is necessary for the health of the plant. And what is the plant to do? The answer is simple – remain. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you… Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit” (John 15:4-5). So don’t lose sight of what you were made to do – grow deep roots (Ephesians 3:17) and produce good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Don’t let the weeds overtake you (Matthew 13:22-23) and the farmer care for you.

The check engine light is on. It came on right after picking the car up from the mechanic. Sigh. Then the kid driving home from college called to say that the check engine light was on in her car, too. It’s not surprising (we drive old cars) but it is discouraging. This is supposed to be a season of joy, but it sure seems like every time things are looking a little brighter, the world turns right around and says, Actually, no. Don’t get your hopes up. 

These things remind me that there’s an enemy intent on stealing our joy at every opportunity. The message is simple – You’re wrong if you think that something good is going to happen in the future. It’s just going to be more of the same, or probably even worse. And the problem is that under a constant barrage of bad news, we either respond by becoming numb, or by becoming weary. Like the townspeople in the story of the boy who cried wolf, eventually we can’t give the same emotional response time and time again. Our hearts can’t take it.

If you’re trying to willpower your way into hope, into a better frame of mind, into a positive outlook, you’re going to get tired pretty quick. Willpower won’t do it. We need some kind of tangible proof that things can change, that it’s not always going to be like this, that it is possible to rise above the dust. And that’s just what we get at Christmas.

Jesus was born into a weary world, to a people tired of bad news, of oppression and occupation and suffering. He still comes to us in our weariness today with a reminder that even when it’s dark, we don’t have to be afraid. Even when it’s dark, there’s still reason to hope. Just read the Christmas account and take a look at the angel’s first words to Zechariah – Do not be afraid (Luke 1:3). To Mary – Don’t be afraid (Luke 1:30). And to Joseph – Don’t be afraid (Matthew 1:20). This is the message of Christmas to each of us – the world is dark and things are confusing, but don’t be afraid. 

Why shouldn’t we be afraid? Because Jesus’ birth is the tangible proof that God cares about us. He isn’t content for us to be lost, wandering, lonely, hurting, afraid. His name proclaims “God saves” because He is Immanuel – “God with us”, on our side, in our midst (Matthew 1:21-23). He isn’t our enemy but our Savior, Redeemer, Friend. He isn’t out to destroy us, but to set us free (Luke 4:18-19).

You can understand why the very thought of this filled the angels with uncontainable joy. They told the shepherds, “Don’t be afraid! (there it is again) I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born tonight!” (Luke 2:10-11, comment added). It’s the kind of news that will cause a weary world to rejoice.