In Deep Weeds

In his second epistle, the Apostle Peter warns against a group of people who were sowing seeds of doubt in the church. “In the last days scoffers will come with scoffing, following according to their own desires and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?” He reminds his readers that God sees time far differently than we do saying, “one day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.” Then he continues to explain: “The Lord is not delaying the promise, as some consider slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”

As I wrote in “The Patience of God,” ever since Adam’s fall from grace in Eden, God has been patiently working His plan to bring His creation back to Himself. So, while 6,000 years may seem like forever to us, it’s only six days to God, in a manner of speaking. But Peter raises the question, “What sort of people must you be in holy behavior and godliness, while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?” That’s the real question: not why is God waiting, but what should I be doing while we wait?

Jesus hinted at this period of waiting when He told the parable of the wheat and tares. The word for tares refers to a specific plant called darnel. Darnel mimics wheat in appearance, so it would be difficult to tell what’s wheat and what’s weeds. That explains why the farmer in the parable told his servants not to do anything until the crop had matured. At harvest time, the true nature of the darnel would be apparent.

This condition is reminiscent of the state of the church throughout history. The enemy, whom Jesus identifies as the Devil, puts darnels in churches to sow trouble. They often look like fine, upstanding Christians. This is no surprise since the enemy is able to masquerade as an angel of light. The parable doesn’t mention that during the growing season, the darnel steals water and nutrients that the wheat needs, perhaps diminishing the harvest. Likewise, the Devil’s plants in churches mislead people and misuse resources in a way that thwarts the true kingdom growth.

In his comments on this passage, Pastor H. B. Charles suggested that the efforts of the servants of God are often a greater threat to the harvest than the enemy. Ouch! As I consider my years among God’s people, I have to agree. When I recall the battles many churches fought over music styles in the 1970’s, I can see the perfect application of the parable. I shudder to think how many young “wheat plants” were torn up and carelessly thrown away when well-meaning church people tried to excise the “darnel” of contemporary music. A generation later, polls prove that a host of young people, many of whom were the force behind contemporary Christian music, have left the church behind. They typically cite irrelevance as the reason they left; I can’t help but think that musical “irrelevance” played a part in their decision to leave.

On the other side of the music battle, people who enjoyed the new choruses often forced the removal of hymnals from the pews, thus subtracting a wealth of sound Bible teaching amassed over the years by godly hymn writers. What we were left with is a repertoire of feel-good, me-first songs that do very little to advance sound doctrine. (For more see “Music for the Soul”)

There have been many other instances of servants attacking supposed darnel to ill effect. Think of the battle over Bible translations: King James only, The Living Bible, NASB versus NIV. Instead of rejoicing that the Word of God was being made more accessible, misguided servants created noise that drowned out the desire to read Scripture. The Jesus Movement, the seeker model, the emerging church all started with honest intent, yet each was criticized and pilloried in turn by servants seeking to remove darnel. I grew up in a church tradition that, like many others, thought they were the only true Christians. In that attitude, they denounced the errant denominations and drew battle lines between them, thus destroying the unity Jesus desires for His church.

The people attacking the darnel had apparently forgotten the story of Jesus’ disciples who wanted to stop some preachers who were not in their little group. Jesus said, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” Likewise, Paul reminded the Philippians in reference to others preaching with dubious motives, “What is the result?^[g] Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.” It looks to me like we need to stop focusing on the weeds and look for the unity Jesus desired. After all, the harvest is in God’s hands in the end.

Related posts: The Country Club Church; To be Content; Check Your Roots; What is the Church?