“Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared … the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.’” (Matthew 13:24-26, 28-30)
To be a kingdom person requires much more than just the ability to distinguish “weeds” from “wheat.” It is what you do after you differentiate between the two that marks you as one committed to kingdom ways. It is significant that the master in this parable forbad his servants to pull the weeds. The reason given was not that the weeds were good for the kingdom, but that by pulling them up, things would be made worse for the kingdom. His command was, “let them both grow together” and that is also my word to my church: “Let them both grow together.” My kingdom will not be established, or even revealed, if you begin to condemn the weeds and attempt to remove them from your midst. Your focus must be on producing wheat, for the world desperately needs to see fruit, not factions. I know that it is tempting to want to uproot those who name the name of Christ and yet embrace intolerance and political solutions, but you will do much more damage to yourself and my church if you respond in this way. Be my fruitful wheat and look for the harvest, not retribution.
— January 11, 2021