Saturday 2 August, 2014

36 Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him. They said, “Explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who planted the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world. The good seed stands for the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 39 The enemy who plants them is the devil. The harvest is judgment day. And the workers are angels. 40 “The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. That is how it will be on judgment day. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin. They will also get rid of all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace. There people will sob and grind their teeth. 43 Then God’s people will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Those who have ears should listen.

Jesus gives us a glimpse into life in the Kingdom – life in heaven – as He unpacks His previous parable. Straight forward – no mistaking – the righteous only will be in His Kingdom – sin & evil doers will not.

Verse 42, I have thought on this verse for several weeks and it causes me to gasp! It’s quite stark – people who do not know Jesus will be thrown into a place where they “will sob and grind their teeth” – this speaks to me of a place of intense pain – whether physical, emotional or both – these people are conscience of where they are and it’s not in the Kingdom with the Father. Some of these people will be people I currently know, how conscience am I that this will be their eternal end??

Father thank you for making me gasp – I need this greater awareness for my friends & family who don’t know you. Please help me keep eternity before me and to be more intentional in my conversations with them.

Written by Suzie Hodgson