All our hard work, ruined. We had prepared the ground, planted the seeds, watered and weeded…and then, invasion. Sometimes among us, sometimes from within us, opposers and naysayers, negativity and judgment, creep in and seek to ruin everything we have been trying to achieve. Should we yank out what seems to be a wicked invader or simply let all parts grow side by side?*
If you ever have tried to eradicate even a disagreeable habit (how are those New Year’s resolutions coming along?), you know how tough it can be. Focusing on the negative is like shining a sun lamp on it. Oh, how weeds love the light! Besides, who are we to say which are needed for this particular time, this soil—the weeds or the wheat?
Better to do as Jesus says, let them grow side by side. The parts we love alongside whatever we detest. The challenging and the easeful, the dark and the light. Better simply to bend to the task at hand and do what is ours to do. Shower them all with love. Let God tend the fire.
For in the end, the story says, all will be fire. Whether weeds or wheat, either we will quickly wither or we will blaze forever, like the sun. Will we trust the One who made us to be the One who decides?
