PARABLE OF THE GOOD SEED AND THE WEEDS

“It’s time, Russell!” Mr. Wade whispers, inhales deeply. The new PA of Kingswell Co. has learned pretty well from his Boss in this last year. Finally, the founder finds solace to see his new protégé being able to co-helm the growing company with flying colours.

“I have much to learn still, Mr. Wade, hang on,” Russell encourages him. “No!” the ailing man protests. “You can get the job done. You can do much better, son,” he adds, still oozes with confidence. The soon-to-be Boss of Kingswell pushes the button to call the nurse as Mr. Wade squeezes the side bars of his bed and shivers. And before the doctor and a nurse can approach the dying man, he has stopped breathing. Nancy hugs her husband and they cry in each other's arms. Russell clutches tight a book by the late Mr. Wade and a letter of authorization of his ascension to head Kingswell Co.

Russell opens up the book to the other side of the cover and smiles. The words, “For the new King of Kingswell Co.!” were written personally by Mr. Wade to him. The book entitles, “The Unchanging Values” was what the late Mr. Wade wanted Russell to possess when he would take over.

In his first official meeting at the boardroom, he meets with his new assistant, Tommy, the brother of Mr. Wade. He has been warned by his late Boss to watch out Tommy who has a reputation for unclean deals. Tommy runs the quality control section of their business of household products and his two sons are in charge of publicity. One of the principles he learned from his late Boss has helped him deal with any eventuality of conflict that may arise. The values and the wisdom from the founder of Kingswell Co. have stuck in Russell’s mind. They have become the integral part of Russell’s business dealings.

“Hey, how’s your day?” Nancy kisses her husband on the cheek. “Stressful!” he shoots back.

“Tell me about it if you want!”

“It was Tommy. He, his sons and some others are beginning to show signs of wanting control.”

“That fast! I don’t know. Maybe jealousy could be the motive.”

“I don’t think so. Wade told me to beware of him and his sons. They had done some unhealthy deals in the past.”

“How come Mr. Wade did not do something about him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t want to upset everyone in the company. There are some good workers who may be affected if things blew up.”

“Could it be they are brothers?”

“I doubt so. I know him. He is genuinely honest and kind. I read part of the book yesterday and saw the values he wrote and what he had done. I don’t see any incongruity.”

Russell lies in bed with the book in hand. While he turns to another page, a folded piece of paper drops out. Curious, he begins to read. His eyes widen. While his wife is fast asleep, he slips out to the living room and sits down at the dining table, sweating.

Two years later…

“I have an announcement to make!” Russell speaks confidently. The departmental heads are reminded of Mr. Wade whenever the new Boss speaks like that.

“I have found discrepancies in many areas in Kingswell Co. Some of you have been with us for so long, wearing the same uniform, feeding on the same vision and dreams of the company, yet you did things out of the scope of our beloved Mr. Wade set of values.” The heads turn to look at each other.

“I did not act out of fear that some good ones may be affected by any drastic measures. I don’t want the company to become news for the wrong reasons and also lawsuits and all. I also would like to thank so many staff who have kept Mr. Wade's great values at work and not only that, they have influenced new ones to do the same," Russell continues.

“And now, I want to introduce to you, Mr. Gregory,” Russell welcomes the newcomer as he walks in. All the heads of departments are still blurred on what is going on.

“I received a letter from Mr. Wade before he died. It was about Mr. Gregory. He has been a good friend of Mr. Wade and he has just bought over Kingswell Co. He will be our new Boss and I have given the list of names to him. The list contains names of those who will be retained or promoted and those who will be let off. And oh, one more thing, it also contains names of some who will have to face the police for some bad deals!”

The parable of the “Good Seed and the Weeds” is only found in Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43.

Many Christians conclude that all the parables in Matthew chapter 13 are spoken in succession and they form one thought, whereas, the Lukan and Markan thoughts on the parables are mainly topical in their messages as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

To Matthew, the radical Gospel of Jesus is about the coming Kingdom of heaven on earth. The penetrating of kingdom values as oppose to the worldly values hold by the majority of people in Israel.

The parable of the “Sower and the Soils” starts the ball rolling by Jesus. It is the Word of God which forms the basis of the Kingdom of God. Only to those who hear, act upon the Word and being fruitful (Seed that fell onto good soil), that this next parable of Jesus can become meaningful. They stand ready for being called the Good seed, the sons/daughters of the kingdom!

For Christians who are serious about carrying out kingdom values on earth, Jesus will gladly plant you in places where you will be even more fruitful. The good Seed, mentioned above, stands for the sons of the kingdom and oh, what a privilege to serve the King of all kings! We are to promote new radical values, set up in the heavenly. It is directly opposite to the world's values of lordship and control, selfishness and short-term thinking, lust and all sorts of earthly pleasures. The most incredible kingdom value a follower of Christ must learn is love (agape), unconditional love: while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us!

Weeds are bad! Every farmer or gardener knows that. In this parable, Jesus speaks of darnel, a kind of false wheat which looks like wheat but it is not wheat. It is only noticeable when it grows its ear.

Interestingly research has shown that darnel when eaten can cause drunkenness. When Darnel has been given medicinally in a harmful quantity, it is recorded to have produced all the symptoms of drunkenness: a general trembling, followed by inability to walk, hindered speech and vomiting. The word Darnel is itself of French origin and testifies to its intoxicating qualities, being derived from an old French word Darne, signifying stupefied. The ancients supposed it to cause blindness, hence with the Romans, lolio victitare, to live on Darnel, was a phrase applied to a dim-sighted person. See http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/tares.html

Here, the weeds represent the sons of evil deliberately sown by the devil himself. It is sown to confuse and to destroy the good wheat unsuspectingly before the Harvest!

Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble…” (John 16:33). Evil in the world is inevitable and all those who oppose the heavenly kingdom’s values will oppose the true followers of the kingdom of heaven! Yet Christians are not called to judge or fight them before the time of the end! They will ultimately be judged by King Jesus Himself, the Judge of the Living and the Dead. The Bible tells us in the end, that the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever" (Rev 11:15).

As for now, we, the sons and daughters of the kingdom, are to continue our focus on expanding God’s kingdom on earth! To continue influence the world, the values of the kingdom of heaven! Of course with the power of the Holy Spirit! As we stay close to God and be serious in following His values, we will be empowered, protected and be used by God to carry out His great plan on earth.

Jesus prayed for His disciples, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one (John 17:14-15).

Here is a caution - the world is the field where children of the kingdom is being sown, not the church. We impact the world and not the church! Church is like a training ground or a lab for Christians to go outside the four walls and be the influence for God's glory!

Next: The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast.
http://psbible.blogspot.com/2010/04/parable-of-mustard-seed-and-yeast.html

PS: The story above is a continuation of the previous story of The Seed and the Soils.