24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 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 13:24-30
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Matthew 25:31-33
"Even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
Joel 2:12
Wheat and tares look a great deal alike. But while wheat is productive, purposeful, and in the spiritual sense, positive and has Godly purpose, the tares are counterfeits, soaking up valuable resources with no return, choking off even the wheat. Sheep and goats are also symbolic opposites. Sheep follow the shepherd, are obedient, trusting, and dependent on him, while goats pay no mind to the shepherd, rebellious and seeking their own desires. These two types of creatures occupy the same pasture, but there is a huge disparity in the fruits of their existence and purposes.
These parables are about people, specifically those who obey God and desire to please Him and keep His commandments (sheep and wheat), and those who Jesus said are like wolves in sheep's clothing, who think with dark and conniving hearts that they can take advantage of God's mercy and grace, abusing the principles of Romans 6 & 7, where Paul discusses the abundance of grace over sin. We are advised to work out our salvation with fear and trembling...the Lord showed me that He will weigh the hearts of men...He knows the intent of a person's heart, good and bad. Herein lies the difference between wheat and tares, sheep and goats. He sees everything, He will not be mocked, so let us not think for a New York second that we can pull a fast one on our Father. This is what "lukewarm" looks like. The Great Harvester, the Good Shepherd, is not fooled, and he will not tolerate injustice. Let us test our hearts, consider carefully that while we serve a loving awesome God, His anger will burn against us for this, but it is totally avoidable.
Return to Him, and give Him your whole heart today.
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