Separation is not For Us

24Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”(Matthew 13)

Thoughts: Jesus lived this parable.  One of his disciples would betray Him, but he ate, slept, and taught this betrayer nonetheless.  So we should let the bad grow with the good until the time is ripe.  In our day, too many want to separate the good from the bad when it is not harvesttime yet.  Such separation divides an already fragile church.
      An enemy sowed the weeds among the seeds.  This was the work of the evil one who constantly wants to frustrate the work of God Almighty.  One of the curses of life is that it is not easy after the fall.  It is by the sweat of our brow that we must do our work.
      In the end, separation and judgment is the work of God, not ours.  The Church, local and general, will always be a mixture of good and bad- true believers and fake believers.  But God will eventually clean things up. 

Prayer: Lord, help me be patient, waiting on you to separate and clean up.