Send to Kindle37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:37-43 (NASB)
We are in advent for His return. Our passage for this week speaks is an explanation of a parable that speaks of that time. We confess Jesus as our savior giving us Hope that we are the “Good Seed” sown by the Son of Man so that we might be “sons of the kingdom”, which refers to all people not merely men due to the use of the masculine pronoun. But perhaps we doubt our status as “good seed” and think, instead we are “tares” sown by the “evil one”. To discern the truth, we have merely to look at the fruit we are bearing in the world where we have been sown. If you have looked at your fruit and are discouraged because you do not believe you bear good fruit then you must seek the counsel of a fellow believer who is further along in their walk with Jesus. If you’ve already done this, head their advice and counsel, or if you question it get a second opinion but take action.
Let me say this clearly: if you are continuing to read through these devotions and trying your best to put off the Old Self to take on the New Self and walk as a New Creation you are not a tare sown of the evil one. If you make no other progress this week then make this progress: resolve to continue your faith-walk either alone or with fellow Christians.
This simple resolution on your part, to keep working and trying to improve, is enough as long as it is firmly rooted in your heart. How much or how little progress you make down that path is unimportant in the grand scheme of your heart position toward God. Be not discouraged but receive Hope in the knowledge that you take one step each day, even if it is only the small step of getting out of bed in the morning and agreeing with Him to go about your day, you have acknowledged Him as having some involvement in your life.
Regardless of where you are in your faith-walk though, do not be satisfied with that position. This is not a place to arrive at, but a journey to be made. We are moving in the direction of improving, incrementally, as much as we are able each and every day we draw breath. Some will move faster down the path. Some will move farther down the path. Some will walk in adoration of those around them, while others toil in humble anonymity. As long as we are all carrying Jesus in our heart as we walk, we are reflecting the light of Jesus to those we meet, and “…SHINE FORTH…” as the Old testament says. The only question at this point is how much polishing does that reflective surface require each to reflect as much as possible?
Bio from my web site :
Mark Malcolm is a child of God, husband, father, project manager, technical writer, gamer, fiction writer, Marine (’87-’91), has practiced Shao Lin Kung Fu and Tai Chi, been published in magazines and newspapers (editorial anyway), and seen the Southern Cross.
The goals he has currently are to more accurately identify the path God has for him to walk, continue to provide for his family, establish a solid web presence, build a career writing novels through both traditional and independent publishing, and learn to better relate to the people around him.
http://www.firstchevalier.com/about-the-cavalier/
