A WORD FOR TODAY, June 2, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, June 2, 2025
“He set another parable before them, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds[a] also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also. The servants of the householder came and said to him, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?” He said to them, “An enemy has done this.” The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and gather them up?” But he said, “No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”’” Matthew 13:24-30, WEB
We all have a story to tell. As a matter of fact, I’m sure we all have dozens, even hundreds of stories to tell. This will be especially evident in the coming months, with so many gatherings of family and friends during the holidays. When two or more people get together, they talk. When they talk, they tell stories. Some of those stories have been told and retold a hundred times, yet they are as wonderful to hear today as they were the first time.
A family gathered around the dinner table tells stories, as children share their day and parents remember their own youth. Have you ever been in conversation with a group of people when one story led to another? Someone will say, “Remember when...” which sets off hours of remembrances. That has happened at some of the retreats I’ve attended, and it always leads to the best conversations. We share our lives through stories, and we connect with others through them. As we listen to other’s stories, we find ourselves remembering times from our own past and realize that we have shared experiences and learned similar lessons. We can learn so much by placing ourselves in someone else’s story.
Storytellers often use real people and experiences in their stories to help others learn the lessons of life. Fairy tales have fictional aspects, such as places and people that do not exist, but the story itself is often based on something real. Each generation takes these stories and makes them their own, changing the place and the people to fit into their own culture. Jesus often used stories called parables to describe God’s kingdom and the message of God’s grace in language and examples they understood. Modern people do not always identify with the parables Jesus used about farming, but those to whom He spoke those stories knew exactly what He was talking about.
Many in our modern world consider the Bible irrelevant to our times. After all, there are far more people who are unfamiliar with agricultural techniques and terminology. However, the ideas within Jesus’ parables are still very important for us to know and understand. We simply have to place ourselves in His stories and learn what He is telling us.
Today’s story from Matthew is one that helps us to see that God knows best how to deal with the enemy’s tricks. As we are sharing the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will notice that there are some who are teaching a false gospel. It is very easy for us to get angry and want to stop those teachers. We argue and debate over doctrine hoping that we will be the ones to once and for all establish the proof the world needs to know the right doctrine. Yet, the false gospel has been preached since the beginning of the church. If it had not, Paul and the other apostles would not have had to deal with it in their letters.
Sometimes we get bored hearing the same stories over and over again, at least that’s what I hear from my children when I retell an old story, especially when we think we have learned the lesson that it conveys. It is especially difficult when we can’t identify with the examples. Jesus’ parables were not always easy to understand by those who heard Him speak, and they are certainly not easy for us today. It doesn’t help that false teachers can twist and turn His words to fit their own ideas and agenda. Yet, this parable teaches us what to do. We are to leave God do what God does. We are to care for the fields until the harvest and let Him deal with the enemy in His way and time. God always knows best.
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