Exodus 12-13
Matthew 16 

“…while you are pulling up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” —Matthew 13:29-30

In Jesus’s parable of the weeds, a man sowed good seeds in his field but an enemy came at night and sowed weeds. When the servant asked the man whether he should pull out the weeds the man said, “No, because while you are pulling up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest” (Matthew 13:29-30). One of the things we see throughout the New Testament is that sometimes, the weed becomes wheat.

When the body of Christ remains in difficult places, despite being mistreated and persecuted, those who were captive to the evil one get impacted and become sons of God through Jesus Christ. We see this in the life of one of the greatest missionaries in Scripture—Saul. He was a terrorist to the early church, travelling all over the region to persecute Christians. Then, Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and, through the witness of others, was converted to Christianity; he was known as Paul throughout the rest of the New Testament. The weed became wheat.

If the early church had not remained among the weeds, Paul would not have come to faith. In fact, none of us would come to faith either. It was because of the testimony of someone else’s life in proximity to us that we heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is because God’s plan of salvation is through His body. He has determined the exact times and places that His people should live because His plan of salvation is carried out through His church.

At harvest, Jesus reveals, ”I will tell the harvesters: first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn” (Matthew 13:30). What is Jesus saying? “Follow Me and do not worry. I have determined the exact times and places where you will be planted. Do not worry about the weeds around you. Just grow. Get your roots deep and I will take care of all the judgment that is required.” The late Billy Graham once said, “It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.” It is not our job to judge or our job to convict the world; this is God’s job. Our job is to love God and love the people around us.

Instead of resisting where He has planted us, may we give thanks to Him for where we are and ask Him to give us new eyes to see what He might be doing in that community.

Dear Jesus, thank You for where You have planted me. Help me be Your witness among the weeds, sharing the love of Christ and loving them as myself.