August 23: WHILE MEN SLEPT

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” Matthew 13:24-25

The famous parable told by Jesus of the wheat and the tares is brimming with revelations about  the Lord’s character. Thankfully, Jesus gave His disciples a commentary (vv.36-43), that His modern-day disciples should study carefully. Jesus identifies Himself as the sower of good seed: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” The field symbolizes our world, intended to be included in the kingdom of heaven. But thoughtfully consider that while Jesus takes credit for the good seed, He takes no blame whatsoever for the sowing of tares: “An enemy has done this” (v.28). He wants us to understand that He and His followers have an enemy, the devil (v.39). Now we get to our role in this scenario: but while men slept … Our crafty enemy takes advantage of our lack of awareness at every opportunity.

Let us pause and examine the context of sleeping here. It’s not taking rest in sleep (John 11:13), or the sleep of death, as in: So David slept with his fathers, and was buried… (1 Kings 2:10). The phrase but while men slept here refers to a passive, even blasé attitude toward the exercise of discernment.

This is when we passively open the door to the devil’s work among us; he is an expert at disguising his agents under a thin veneer of piety or something that seems harmless, even “good.” Let[ting] both [the wheat and the tares] grow together until the harvest (v.30) shows us the tremendous patience and miraculous capabilities of the Lord, for He is able to redeem tares and transform them into wheat. We also learn from this parable that at the end of the age, there will be only two groups. At the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them together in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Nothing should be of greater importance to each of us than preparing for the coming of Christ. In His foreknowledge, He has given us a last-day message that makes finding His true church possible. It is high time to wake up to the word of God in its fullness. This word is supported by its Author, the Holy Spirit of God. Unity in truth will be the indicator of the presence of God’s Spirit. But unity in error is an indicator of the absence of His Spirit. The last days will see a genuine revival and a counterfeit one, leading to the separation of the wheat and the tares.

…that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. Ephesians 1:10