Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
“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?’
“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling 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 13:24-30

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

• Matthew 7:1-2

I am a weary warrior who cannot rest.  But I may need to pray for wisdom in picking my battles.

The two Scriptures above are an interesting duo.  When I was young and naive, I thought the weeds, tares in the KJV since when I was young it was a KJV world…  I thought those tares were the folks that lived a mile down the road that never attended church.  Okay, all the folks that close to our home went to church, way down the road. But over my years of teaching Sunday school, I have heard church elders betray their lack of understanding when it comes to God’s Grace.  But including the other Scripture, who am I to judge?  I can only try to explain what God’s Grace is.  God must convict them of their sins.  I cannot do that, and maybe they have it right in their heart, but their head is jumbled.

My head gets jumbled.  A few days ago, I was thinking of quitting the church and the Sunday school class where I teach.  It is getting harder and harder. Like the Bible says, God does not wish for anyone to be lost, but the Scriptures also say that some will be saved and many lost. It is their decision, and sadly, that even happens within the walls of the church.

Whether I have learned this lesson or not, I have been at peace ever since I left the issue up to God in prayer.  Will there be wheat or tares mixed together in the future?  I cannot tell, but I am at peace.  I recently studied Proverbs 9, and it says that a frontal assault just provokes abuse.

In the parable of the tares, it does not say that the tares will magically become wheat.  In real life, there might be some wheat that has not fully discovered that they are wheat, but Jesus said that the wheat and tares will be recognizable by their fruit in full season.

So, I am still weary, but I must press on, until God redirects me elsewhere.  Or as General Douglas MacArthur said before Congress, “Old soldiers never die.  They just fade away.”

Okay, to clear that up, even Douglas MacArthur died, but before he did, he faded away.

But in my battles, I do not wish to be remembered.  I wish Jesus to live on and never fade away, and I know He will.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.