Tares in the Pews

We spent eight hours with dear friends yesterday and the bulk of our discussion gathered around the subject of being hurt at church. Why is God’s house – a place of healing – also often a place of deep wounding?

I opened my Bible this morning to the parable of the wheat and tares.

“He told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good see in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.”” (Matthew 13:24 MSG)

There will always be thistles in church.

It’s been that way from the beginning. Consider the Pharisees that Jesus contended with endlessly. Consider the expanse of church history. Consider your personal history in the halls of any church. We’ve all encountered a few thistles in our story and sometimes the thistles have been us.

We get wounded in church because wheat and thistles grow up alongside each other in the same field. The enemy has snuck in under cover of darkness and planted tares. The only way we recognize the thistles is when we get scraped and bruised by their actions, or when we scrape and bruise others with our own.

“The weeds are probably darnel, a poisonous plant related to wheat and virtually indistinguishable until the ears from.” (France)

The enemy sows thistles with the singular aim of destroying the wheat. The Farmer knows this, He recognizes the thistles from the start, but in His wisdom, He waits until the end of the growing season to sort them all out. He waits for the sake of the harvest; pulling the tares today will uproot the wheat and spoil the bounty.

Meanwhile, it hurts to live among the thistles. We are wounded, discouraged and even divided by their presence in our pews. If we aren’t, we may be the thistle ourselves.

So how do we deal with the inevitable presence of thistles?

Be aware of the enemy. You’ll never expect to encounter thistles if you don’t believe we have an enemy. He sneaks around in the dark and plants disruption, discourse and division. Recognize his handiwork and cast blame where it belongs; on powers and principalities, not people and personalties.

Guard your heart in the face of offense. Thistles exist and you will be wounded. It’s inevitable. It’s what we do with the wounding that matters most. The poison can seep in and turn wheat into tares. Submit sore spots to the Spirit and allow Him to heal the injury before it becomes infected, blighted and contagious.

Bend under the breeze of the Spirit. Tares won’t give way to God’s agenda as wheat will. Pharisees bristle at true Kingdom assignments but God’s people want to go where He’s going and receive what He’s teaching.

Long for ripe, holy lives. Yearn for the maturation that comes from a long obedience in the right direction. Surrender to God’s leading and live in a way that honors Him, no matter what happens around you or to you. Recognize that it’s God’s job to weed, it’s our job to tend to our own hearts with the powerful tools of the Word and the Spirit.

“The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send His angels, weed out the thistles from His kingdom, pitch them in the trash and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father.” (Matthew 13:42-43 MSG)

Lord, don’t let us be thistles. Instead, tend to us carefully and craft our hearts into winter-ready wheat. Make us resistant to the poison of the thistles. May we be determined to hold good ground for Kingdom’s sake. Amen.