FIGHTING TARES

FIGHTING TARES

Our nation is still reeling from the shock of the public assassination of Charlie Kirk, the beloved leader of Turning Point USA. We all felt like we knew him. We may not have agreed with all of his views, but he was our brother in Christ. Charlie was a champion of free speech and lived his life to passionately debate views and values with the young ones to challenge them to think for themselves. Charlie loved America, he loved the youth, and he also loved the Lord and preached Jesus always.

As the abundance of our hearts pour out on social media and into the public square, people are polarizing. Some people mourn his death; some people celebrate. Every heart is awash in anger. The dividing of people seems strangely familiar. As believers we should never celebrate the death of anyone. I heard someone say, that in people’s reactions to this death, the tares and the wheat are easy to recognize. My hope is that we won’t focus our attention on debating and fighting tares, but instead focus our attention on Jesus and the work He has for us.

GRIEVING

As believers we do not grieve like those without hope of the resurrection. We know Charlie Kirk believed and is with the Lord. But we leave time for grieving with memorials and prayer, celebrations of life and lessons learned. We leave time to grieve, yet in this case, at this late hour, we hear the tares calling us to battle, on X, on Instagram, in church, on Facebook, at work, etc. We are fighting tares everywhere. It’s the distraction the devil employs, to capture our attention and change our message to the world.

WHAT’s A TARE?

When I talk of tares, I am referring to a weed which Jesus spoke about in a Parable about Wheat and Tares in Matthew 13:24-30. This weed, known as darnel, is poisonous if consumed. During the growing season, tares look exactly like wheat plants; you can’t tell them apart. It’s only at harvest time, when the wheat is heavy with fruit and the tares remain barren weeds.

We are getting close to harvest time and plenty of tares are revealing themselves by the fruit of hatred, lawlessness and divisiveness. If we turn our attention to debate with raging, angry people in this hour, or listen to those sounds of war, it’s like eating a poisonous weed which will make us sick on the inside.

THE PARABLE

Jesus told the parable to explain the Kingdom of Heaven and the end of the age. We all know the story. The landowner sowed good seeds in his fields, but at night, as the workers slept, an enemy came in and sowed tares among the wheat. As everything sprouted and the plants grew, the workers noticed that not every green thing was wheat. They realized tares were in the field.

When the workers asked the boss if they should go and remove the tares, he answered – No! He told them to leave both grow together. He reasoned that if the workers pulled up the weeds, they may uproot the wheat as well and affect the harvest.

The landowner goes on to explain that at harvest time, he will send his reapers into the field to first gather the tares and throw them into the fire and then bring the wheat into his barns.

THE PLAYERS

Jesus really wanted us to understand this parable! He interprets the meaning later in the chapter.  The field is the world and the One Who sowed the good seed is Jesus, Himself, the Son of Man. The good seeds are sons (and daughters) of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons (and daughters) of the evil one. The enemy who planted the tares is the Devil. Harvest time is the end of the age and the reapers who Jesus sends will be the angels who reap the earth.

If you are already a Christian, you are wheat because you are a child of the Kingdom of God. However, there are many green things growing in the world and we cannot distinguish who will accept Jesus and who will reject Him. Something that looks like a tare may actually be a slow growing wheat stalk coming ripe late to the harvest. Many people come late into the kingdom. Something that looks good and sounds great like wheat, may actually be a tare in disguise.

Who can tell? We do not have the wisdom to distinguish between the two. Only the angels, as reapers, at the end of the age can be trusted to separate the Harvest. They can tell what is wheat and what is tare. We are not the reapers.

WHEAT & WORKERS

I like to think that I, as a believer, am also a worker in my Father’s fields. Young believers need help to grow and struggling people need encouragement. I like to tell them about Jesus in hopes that  wheat will develop. Many of us are like those workers, caring for and helping the wheat to grow and come ripe for Harvest!

But although we might be wheat and also workers, we are not reapers, so we should not try and cut down or destroy the ones we think are tares. Only God knows who is who.

FIGHTING TARES IN THE FIELD

As we work in the world to further the Kingdom of our Father, we are surrounded by voices and videos calling us to war. Tares are actually there in the field and the sound of darkness calls out through them to distract us as laborers in the Harvest. If we listen and engage in fighting tares, we lose our peace and get drawn out to battle.

Here are a few of the distracting debates I hear people engaging in:

Political Divisions – Who’s right – Who’s wrong.
Patriotism – Defending & Saving America at all costs.
Anarchy -Burning America down and starting again.
Conservative Values – Defending them and proving others wrong.
Progressive Values – Struggling, at times violently, to tear down systems thought to be prejudiced.
Wretched Behaviors –People celebrating a death, even with a song, inflammatory language, cursing, lies, twisting realities, accusation, name calling, division, arrogance, chaos, hatred, etc.

Hatred and anger foment on all sides, even among believers. These are distractions and call us to fight. They tempt to draw us into battle.  When we step into the fight, we forget we are children of the Light in Jesus.

When we disparage another, and even if they truly are a tare, we do dishonor to the One Who created that person in the first place. We are to consider no man after the flesh, but as a lost child, separated from of our Father in Heaven.

As wheat and workers and sons and daughters of the Kingdom, fighting tares is not our portion.

THE DANGER OF UPROOTING

When we take on the responsibility of cutting down tares and pulling them up, we put ourselves in the place of the reapers or worse yet, the Lord of the Harvest. When we put our hands on what we think is a tare, we can damage the wheat growing right beside it.

Others, who are not yet wheat or tare, see us as an example of a Christian and a representative of the Kingdom of our Father. Fighting tares in angry, bitter debates can uproot this young wheat, causing it to die before the harvest. What type of kingdom are we representing when we lash out in anger?

Is this the example we want others to see as sons and daughters of the Living God?

The Lord told the workers in His field  “Hands off the tares. Leave them alone.”

We must not take the bait of the enemy to defend and debate and insult and curse others, even if their behavior is poisonous. We must turn from it because we have other work to do.

FIGHTING TARES TAKES US “OFF MESSAGE”

It’s OK to feel angry, but don’t embody anger. Work through it with the Lord. Make every effort to maintain peace. Stay clear on your message to the others growing in the field.

Conservatism is not our message.
Saving America – is not our message.
Correcting Lawlessness – is not our message.

Our Message is the Good News of the reconciliation of mankind through Jesus
and His blood sacrifice on the cross!
The law of Sin and Death is broken, only in Jesus!
His arms are open wide to all who will turn and repent of their sin
and make Him Lord of their life.
All who want Him are welcome to come to Him and be saved!

Love. Peace. Joy. Healing. Forgiveness. Light and Life.
That is our message.

HARVEST IS COMING

It is getting close to the final harvest at the end of the age. The harvest is ripe and fruit is showing up, good fruit and bad fruit. Our Father in Heaven needs us to go into the fields and spread the Good News of Jesus, care for the wheat, strengthen the weak stalks, plant new seeds, bringing light and life wherever we go.

Let’s keep working. Let’s stay focused on following Jesus. Let’s keep the message of reconciliation burning on our lips and speak it out loud. Let’s help our Father.

We may have to put down our desire to fight and be right, but the reward at the end is worth everything.

⁴³ “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
He who has ears, let him hear!”
Matthew 13:43
Tree of Life Version

– Jesus speaking to His followers.