Wheat & Tares: Let Them Grow Together

Isaiah 66 tells us that God looks to the man who trembles at His word. Does it not humble you to know that God has revealed His mysteries to you, and hid them from others? (How wonderful our God! May we never get over it!) The parables are especially helpful in understanding the nature of the kingdom of God, an aid to any pastor seeking to understand his members. As long as the church exists, there will always be tares mixed with the wheat. JC Ryle tells us, "The purest preaching will not prevent this." The wheat and the tares look identical, and will not be distinguished until the harvest. In the meantime, the Lord told them, let them grow up together. In our Christian lives, we need to leave no issue undealt with, as it could destroy us. We are to watch for the tares in our lives, and not give them favorable soil in which to grow. Perhaps this is why Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:27 that he keeps under his body, and brings it into subjection, lest he should be a castaway (reprobate). The presence of the tares are attributed, not only to the sowing of Satan, but to the slothfulness of man.