Thursday 16 August, 2018

36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

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