Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
“And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:27-30, NRSVCE)
God’s grace is great. So is His patience. And so is His trust 
that, given time, we will put aside those things that threaten our growth in Him.
Consider the Parable of the Weeds above. The household slaves are eager, all too eager, really to do what they think will please the master and go out and uproot the weeds in the field. But he instructs them not to do so, lest they uproot the young wheat plants in the process. Better to wait, he advises, until the harvest.
Who among us does not have a few weeds in our field? Weeds of pride, of fear, of doubt, of all the other stuff that threatens to choke out the Lord’s presence. And, alas, who among us does not find it just as easy to see the weeds in another’s field, especially someone we find difficult to love. Ah, how we itch to go into that field.
May we have the faith, courage, and confidence to work on our own weeding, and to know when we are called upon to tenderly and with love help others clear away theirs.
