Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares [weeds] among
the wheat, and went his way. But when
the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared tares
also. So the servants of the householder
came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from
whence then hath it tares? He said unto
them, An enemy hath done this. The
servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the
tares ye root up also the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I
will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew, Chapter 13, verses 24-30.
Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into
the house: and His disciples came unto Him, saying, Declare unto us the parable
of the tares of the field. He answered
and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man; The field
is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are
the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the
harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and
burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth His angels,
and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which
do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew, Chapter 13, verses 36-43.
This is
also like when you make popcorn. Pretend
all the fully popped kernels are those who believe Jesus is their Savior and
try to lead their lives accordingly. The
unpopped kernels or “Old Maids” are those who have fallen prey to Satan’s
enticements to live a worldly life.
After you pop the popcorn, you debate whether to pick out all the “Old
Maids,” since there are quite a few, or to leave them in.
Some of
the popcorn kernels are partially popped, but you decide to count them as “Old
Maids,” because they really aren’t the same as fully popped popcorn. This is similar to people who know Jesus is
our Savior, but don’t put any effort into praying or leading a life that reflects
their love for Him. You think about it
and decide to dump all the popcorn into a paper bag to eat rather than pulling
the “Old Maids” out. That symbolizes
both Christians and non-Christians living together on earth.
The fully
popped popcorn is chosen and is removed from the bag, representing the
Christians who will be chosen and will have Salvation in heaven. All the “Old Maids” and partial “Old Maids”
will be discarded when you throw the paper bag into the garbage can. This represents those with a worldly focus
who will be going to hell. I don’t know
about you, but I don’t want be discarded like an “Old Maid Christian,” so I
need to live my life accordingly.
Here is a
related passage:
*Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a
net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was
full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but
cast the bad away. So shall it be at the
end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among
the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth. Matthew, Chapter
13, verses 47-50.
Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.
Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.
