Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43 by Seth Dunn

²⁴ Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. ²⁷ The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."" 

Matthew 13:24-30

³⁶ Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” ³⁷ 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 13:36-43

Wrigley's Skittles are one of my favorite confections, for the most part. There are five flavors of Skittles that come together in a bag, but I only like four of them. I do not like lemon-flavored yellow Skittles. I do not like lime-flavored green Skittles either, but in 2013 the Wrigley's changed the flavor of green Skittle's from lime to green apple (which I like). Wrigley's experimented with this flavor change in 2001, but much to my chagrin it didn't stick. I have to say that I'm happy that they are trying this experiment again...but I really have no control of what kind of Skittles Wrigley's puts in the bag. I have to take what I get whenever I get a bag of Skittles and what I get is all five flavors.

The first thing I do when I get a bag of Skittles is pick out all the yellows and throw them in the garbage. After that, I enjoy what candy is left in the bag. I don't throw away an entire bag of Skittles just because the lemon-flavored Skittles are mixed in with the flavors I want.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus teaches that God is very selective. There are both wheat and tares in the field. When harvest time comes, he will separate the good from the bad. At harvest time, don't be the yellow Skittles in God's bag of candy.

Lord make us ripe for the Harvest and give us a home in your barn.