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 bad 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.

For at least four decades there has been a major move among Christians to separate  from the culture especially in education. And as the world gets worse this movement gains intensity.

But think about it this way. If you let the weeds and the wheat grow together, yes, the weeds grow worse and worse but we forget the wheat is growing as well, right alongside it. So as the weeds grow more evil, the good seed is growing stronger in its ability to handle the evil that is going on right next too it.

Whereas if you separate out the good seed and educate it in a supportive and believing environment where it is not constantly being challenged by worldly philosophies, it often cannot handle an evil, complex world when its education is complete and it is sent out into the world unprepared. It’s a documented fact that many students who were educated in Christian schools lose their faith when they are thrust into the real world.

Let them grow together; the good seed will be the stronger for it.