wheat your garden
"When the crop began to mature and yield grain, the weeds made their appearance as well." —Matthew 13:26
The Lord doesn't weed His garden (Mt 13:29). Jesus explained to His disciples that the field is the world, the wheat are the children of the kingdom, and the weeds are the children of the evil one (see Mt 13:38). Therefore, if you're a child of the kingdom of God, you must suffer being intertwined with a lot of weeds (see Mt 13:29). The Lord puts His people together with the children of the evil one so that we may love and serve them, in the hopes of leading them to conversion and faith, as if the weeds had turned into wheat. However, the very opposite can occur. The wheat can become like weeds and lose their new life in Christ (2 Pt 1:10; 1 Cor 9:27).
Thus, wheat must be concerned about converting weeds and not being perverted by them. Conversion and perversion are related. If we do the work of conversion, we will be in less danger of being not be perverted. However, if we ignore our responsibility to lead people to conversion, we are in a greater danger of becoming perverted. If we don't share our faith, we may lose our faith.
For God's sake, for weeds' sake, for your own sake, love a weed enough to tell him that Jesus loves him enough to die for him. Wheat your garden.
Prayer: Father, may I love weeds and show it.
Promise: "Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his neighbor; if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place, or follow strange gods to your own harm, will I remain with you in this place." —Jer 7:5-7
Praise: Wearing a crucifix has opened up more than one conversation about Christ for Steven.
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 27, 2018
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