Darning the Damage from Darnel
in Our Souls and Community
By Tim McCoy
In our small group last Sunday one was moved with compassion to think that some people grow up where much evil has been sown in them, around and against them, while life is easier and freer for others.
Matt 13: 23 - 30. ‘The kingdom of heaven may be com-pared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel* all among the wheat, and made off…Jesus said, Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.” ’
*13:26 Zizanion, a kind of weed referred to as “darnel” or “tares,” has poisonous seeds but looks like wheat in its early stages of growth. Yet it is easily distinguishable at harvest. The sower of evil is "the devil" (verses 25, 28, 38-39) (diabolos: the accuser, deceiver, liar, and be-trayer, one who is against all that is true and righteous. Satan's sly nature is revealed in his choice of the darkness for doing his diabolical work, sowing what is evil among the good.
Darnel or Tares in our soul.
In our lives we have had bad experiences, bad con-clusions based on faulty facts, imperfect motives, and sins committed against us as well as evil thoughts so our minds by the world. Haven't you prayed, “Lord take this anger or hated away from me? Or Lord why can't this temptation be taken away”?
It's a mystery but God allows these subtle tares to co-exist in our hearts until he has matured the fruit He has planted becomes ripe and mature enough to over-power and become easily distinguished from the fruit of Satan. In Hebrews it is written. "For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of right-eousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil."
Our life maturity is based on growing in the ability to distinguish the in-fluence of both tares and the wheat within ourselves (not just seeing evil influences in the world around us). When we begin to see them, we can confess our faults and ask prayer and help to be healed (James 5:17). Jesus is a gentle shepherd, and if he only dealt with judgment and condemnation of sin where would we learn mercy? From Jesus we learn humility, mercy and patience, and in the church is grace to free us from evil within us.
The power of confession
Romans 7: For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it... I see in my body war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my body. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
1 John 1:7 If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin…9 If we confess our sins he will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness.
So within or without, God is patient for His fruit to distinguish itself and for us to purge ourselves through His discerning Spirit and the mirror of God’s word. God give us grace to be patient with ourselves and others while we confess our faults and pray for one another to be healed in love. Then we shine as light in this world.
“Although the tares hinder the wheat, yet they make it the more beautiful to behold”.
