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 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?
“An enemy did this,” he replied.
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 root up the wheat with them. Let 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 13:24-30)
Jesus gave us a very important clue in this parable about living and operating in the world. He’s talking about the kingdom of heaven on earth, and there are good seeds and weeds in the same garden. And the surprising thing is how little attention he wants us to put into weeding that garden. It’s implied that it may even be hard to tell the weeds from the wheat in the early stages of growth. At any rate they are too close together to mess with separating.
The operable words here are: “Let both grow together.” I would suggest that this is a remarkably daring worldview and I do not know of many Christians who have ever adopted it even though it was Jesus who came up with it. I would also suggest it takes a very different philosophy about living in the world than the ones offered so far by Christian educators and institutions to adopt this as one’s worldview. Wheat next to weeds, good next to evil, right next to wrong, sacred next to secular – so close that to root up one, would inevitably root up the other. No… “Let both grow together.” Do not waste your time trying to separate any of this out. God isn’t even doing that yet. Spend your time learning to be who you are as good seed in a complicated, mixed up garden where things are not always what they appear to be.
John Fischer The Catch 
Thanks, John. I read this post just minutes after reading a post on another blog about a Christian’s loving response to a gay couple in her neighborhood after having supported Prop 8. I haven’t sorted out all my thoughts yet, but both posts got my synapses firing.
In Luke’s version of the Parable of the Sower, the “seed” is the message of the kingdom, the gospel of salvation (Lk 8:11-12). In this Matthew parable, which directly follows his own version of the Sower, I think the “good seed” is still the gospel of the kingdom and salvation. Having just described how good seed can be rendered ineffective by unprepared soil, it is now described as being challenged by weeds. Not just any old weeds, though. The enemy’s seeds are “tares” that grow to become darnel wheat that resembles real wheat when young. Counterfeit wheat. Jesus’ point is, don’t overreact to those who are not his true followers. It is not our responsibility to uproot (judge?) every deceived person who claims to be a Christian (looks like real wheat); it is our responsibility simply to be real wheat. God will take care of the judgment. Not us.
What does that say about our role as Evangelicals in today’s world? Are we more concerned about uprooting the false wheat, or being real wheat? I think there is still a legitimate and merciful expression of biblical love that wants to draw others out of sin in order to help them know God’s fullest blessing and protection, but where does loving concern end and judgment begin? Perhaps that is the tension of what it means to “grow together.” We can certainly try to remove the bad seed before it takes root (that is, we should be about correcting false teaching and confronting false gospels), but once it takes root in a person and sprouts, then we’re all in this field of life together. That’s a challenging thought for a Thursday morning.
As a mother of a gay daughter, who grew up in a Evangelical Christian home, I hope my brothers and sisters in Christ are following the greatest commandments…
Mark 12:29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.”
This is what we are to do. Show love to God, show love to our neighbors. This is the Word of Christ… God… Holy Spirit…
I know through much heartache and experience, that if we judge, we are no longer doing what we are commanded to do.
I’m a straight, centrist mainline Protestant Christian who sometimes feels viewed as
“bad seed” by Evangelicals. My church’s loving inclusion of gay men and women plays a big part in my joy at being part of my Presbyterian (USA) congregation. I send you and your daughter my sincere prayers; I hope she knows how much you love her.
Thank you Laura, you don’t know how much your response means to me. thankyouthankyouthankyou…