Have you read the parable of the sower in Matthew 13? I love this story because it tells how God will separate the wheat from the chaff during the harvest and how we were sown into good soil so we could grow in Him until the harvest. Parables like this one speak to us in ways that make us remember what the storyteller says, and they give us insight into God’s holy Kingdom. Jesus wanted us to know and remember what the Kingdom of God is like, and He encouraged us to tell others too.

If you have time, please read Matthew chapter 13: 24-30

Do you know the difference between the wheat and the chaff (A.K.A tares) as mentioned in scripture? The chaff are the weeds that Satan plants in the world and the wheat are the believers. One day we’ll be separated from the unbelievers at God’s harvest; The unbelievers will be thrown into the lake of fire and the rest of us will go to God’s perfect Kingdom where there will be a wedding feast.

Webster’s definition of “Weeds” is, “A plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth. Especially: one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants.” What happens when we, as christians, start hanging out with unbelievers and push fellow believers to the side? In the past, I have become very worldly like the people I’ve hung out with. The more I retreated from prayer and God’s Word, the more I became like Satan. Can you tell the weeds from the wheat?

“You will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16).” As believers, we should be able to easily distinguish the wheat from the chaff. Think back on the days before you became a christian; were you different than you are today? I definitely was. I choked out everything that had to do with God and fed myself with worldly desires. There was nothing good about me. Looking back on it makes me so grateful that my Father sought me out to plant me in a field of glory instead of casting me into the fire.

What happens to the chaff when it’s removed from the wheat? It’s burned in a fire since it is of no use to the farmer. Why keep something that doesn’t work, right?! The same thing will happen at God’s Harvest, but there’s so much work to be done until then. As Jesus said in Matthew 9, “the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few.” We are called to serve the Lord and to plant seeds of faith in the hearts of unbelievers, which is why believers and unbelievers grow up together in the same world.

In the verse above, Jesus knew that Simon would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed and He also knew what kind of persecution Simon would face in the coming years, so He prayed that Simon’s faith would remain strong. Satan would try everything unto death to keep Simon from following Christ, so it was imperative that Simon remain diligent in keeping to heart everything he was taught over the past few years.

2 Timothy 3 says that believers will suffer persecution at one point or another, and it’s important that we continue in what we’ve been taught by the scriptures and from Jesus so that we can endure it and be delivered. This is what makes us wheat. This is what made Simon wheat as well. Satan is asking for us so he can sift us out of the field of glory, but our Savior is praying for us. Jesus tells us to be strong in our faith and that is what we must do.

The harvest will be here in no time and we have so much to do to prepare, friend. Are you steadfast in faith like the stalks of wheat in the parable, or will you be sifted out of the bundles and thrown into the fire? How about your friends and family, are they steadfast? Let’s be farmhands and plant the seeds that the Lord is handing to us so that we can help build His glorious Kingdom.

“We must never underestimate the power of planting a seed.” -Jean-Francois Millet