NT in 40 days: Matt. 12-15

Matthew 13:24-29 has a the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds.

24 Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.

27 “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?’

28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.

“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.

29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”

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When tragedy strikes, one of life's big questions is, "How can a good God tolerate the evils that happen in the world?" I once read in Iris Chang's Rape of Nanjing about the 1937 massacres perpetrated by the Imperial Army. Later I read in Flyboys about the firebombing of Tokyo during World War II. Both were horrific events.

Why didn't God step in and stop either?

I think the above passage offers some clue. Evil does not come into the world because of God, and despite our desires for vengeance and justice, those by whom it comes can still be saved.

Further, by asking God to uproot the "weeds fo the world," we risk asking for our own destruction. No matter how much I may think of myself as wheat, there are many more who might be convinced I'm the weed. One of them might be the guy I inadvertently cut off on the interstate today.

Matthew 12:35 says, "A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart." That is an encouraging thought -- that despite all those times I messed somebody up, I can bring some good into this world.