Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares [weeds] among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew, Chapter 13, verses 24-30.
Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and His disciples came unto Him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew, Chapter 13, verses 36-43.
This is also like when you make popcorn. Pretend all the fully popped kernels are those who believe Jesus is their Savior and try to lead their lives accordingly. The unpopped kernels or “Old Maids” are those who have fallen prey to Satan’s enticements to live a worldly life. After you pop the popcorn, you debate whether to pick out all the “Old Maids,” since there are quite a few, or to leave them in.
Some of the popcorn kernels are partially popped, but you decide to count them as “Old Maids,” because they really aren’t the same as fully popped popcorn. This is similar to people who know Jesus is our Savior, but don’t put any effort into praying or leading a life that reflects their love for Him. You think about it and decide to dump all the popcorn into a paper bag to eat rather than pulling the “Old Maids” out. That symbolizes both Christians and non-Christians living together on earth.
The fully popped popcorn is chosen and is removed from the bag, representing the Christians who will be chosen and will have Salvation in heaven. All the “Old Maids” and partial “Old Maids” will be discarded when you throw the paper bag into the garbage can. This represents those with a worldly focus who will be going to hell. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want be discarded like an “Old Maid Christian,” so I need to live my life accordingly.
Here is a related passage:
*Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew, Chapter 13, verses 47-50.
Because this example of how I’ve applied these Bible passages to my life only focused on a portion of the passages, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passages.
This is a connection I've made from this Bible passage. Please
share your connections.
