Off to the side of the road I saw two El Salvadoran boys holding a sheet. They were taking the sheet and tossing it up in the air. As the freshly picked coffee beans were airborne, all of the weeds, dirt, and twigs would blow away with the wind. Each time they tossed the sheet into the air, the wind would grab hold of everything that was lighter than the coffee beans, and that did not have weight or substance.
In Matthew 13 Jesus tells a parable of the Wheat and the Tares. I am reminded that even though the wheat is the productive end product that yields results, the tares are the bad dysfunction that sows discord. The interesting fact with this however, is that both are harvested together. There are tares (Weeds) in churches, governments, corporations, etc... When the time comes to harvest the wheat, then the tares are also harvested. It is explained in this passage that the field is not weeded like a garden would be, because the wheat would be in jeopardy of being uprooted prematurely. Instead, the real separation comes on the threshing floor. There is only one true substance that will make it to the mill. It is not the one that chokes the life out of everything around it. It is not the one that sows discourse and strife. Still yet it will not be the one that hords all of the nutrients, and is so selfish that it only cares about oneself. No, the wheat is the one that will make it to the mill, and ultimately into piping hot bread on the dinner table.
Are you the Wheat or a Tare? Pretty direct question to think about. I pray that each one of you is a Humble Servant used for purposes intended. However, this lesson really makes us take a step back and evaluate our own lives. This passage in the Bible goes on to talk about what happens to the Wheat and the Tares. I encourage everybody to go back and read this in length. As for me and my household, we have made a decision to be the WHEAT...