The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-06-24
The Lesson Text In Everyday Dress.


enemy who came one nignI and mali
/ ciousiy sowed darnel among the
wheat. By and by. when the wheat
began to mead. the real character OF
the tares was discovered by the mans
slaves, who reported the patter to
their master. The man knew At once
that 1t was the work of an enemy.
but he would not allow his siavas TO
/ gather up the tares, lest, 81 he said,
they should root up the wheat with
them He would wait until the har-
vest when such danger would no
longer exist, and then he would order
his reapers to look after the matter
Later in the day. when he had end
ed mis- discourse and had Ieturnea 10
the house, the disciples asked him 10
explain the parable. In reply he told
! them that by ''gocd Eeed' was means
/ the people Of Gods kingdom; and ty
| bad seed" bad men. The sower OF
the good seed was Christ: he soWer
1 of the bad seed was Satan. The
harvest was the close OF the age--the
/ day of judgment. The reapcrs We're
the angels. Just as the tares were
| allowed to remain and were gathered
and burnt at harvest time, so II would
be at the last day. Christ would send
his servants, the angels. and they
would gather out OF his kingdom all
that sinned and caused others To sin,
and would carry them away to 'ntol-
era BILE doom Then would those who
! were left shine out in the Kingdom or
the Father as gloriously aa the sun
that has just come from behind d
! cloud.
The Heart OF the Lesson.
Jesus seems to have In mind the
old, old question that has never ceased
to be a burning question: Why Is 1t
that q ygicknd flourish ike
a green bay tree here. and that the
righteous must wait for the next world
ito shine forth as the sun i'll the king
dom of their Father" Why should not
the tares be gathered up before they do
any harm? Why may not James and
John call down fire from heaven upon
1.-THE inhospitable Samaritans? What
right have the wicked here anyways?
In the first place, says Jesus, we
should remember that God did not
bring wickedness iato the world. AN
enemy hath done this" God never yet
|, sowed bad seed. Day by day. from
the beginning, he has been sowing
good seed, but night by night--"while
men slept'-the devil has been sowing
tares among the wheat One may ask
. why God allowed the enemy TO go on
, with his sowing; but one may as well
ask why God made US men TO choose
between good and evil. instead OF tin
soldiers. to whom nothing would have
either good or evil.
God ia not, then, the author of the
evil OF which we complain. But why
should He allow he taries to remain
at the risk of choking down the wheat
1t is easy to suggest reasons. but here
Jesus gives one: wilt thou, then
that We go and gather them up But
he said, Nay: lest while We gather ul
the tares. We root up also the wheat
with them" Allowing the wicked TO
remain VIII do them no harm and may
dS> them good. and while 1t may in
some degree endanger the good. they
are not likely 10 be choked down by
the growth OF the tares as they are to
be rooted up by the pulling up Of
: the tares The wheat is not yet rooted
deep enough TO run the risk
/ To fully realize this truth we must
bring il closer home. Yonder Is a
thief. II God should choose to put
that thief out of the way by a thun-
der-bolt, how--we ask--couId 1t harm
the good? But suppose that. thief is
OF Your own blood--a father a bro
Their. a son. Think you that the
thunder-bolt would not disturb your
faith in God? Does father say,
Why does not God giorify his name
by striking down my disappearing
son ?? There are those who speak Of
the present life as the real and only
judgment day; but Is it not plain
that present Judgment would mean
general destruction? Where is the
man who Is so deeply rooted that
he could to-day witness the judgment
of God--espectally II 1t began at his
own house? IT is not until both wheat
and tares have been gathered-when
there is no longer danger of being
rooted up--when the probation is over
that we will be able to look upon
the separating process. saying in our
hearts, Even so, Father, for SO 1t
seemeth good in thy sight"
And so Jesus tells us in this para
graph that the presence of wiekedness
in the world is no occasion for
stumbling. The fact that a man may
do wickedly and yet flourish like a
green bay tree does not prove that
II God is indifferent to the wicked; Ii
only shows how deeply he Is con-
cerned for the good. He is grieved
: because of the tares, but then he loves
|, the wheat Moreover. while tares
never turn to wheat in the course of
nature. wicked man may become
good in the course of grace. and God
is long suffering. Nor does the pros
perity of the wicked prove that God
Is unjust. for the time will come
when he will say 10 his reapers,
Gather ye together. first. the tares
and bind them together to burn them,
but gather the wheat into my. barn"
Sometimes In our moments OF dis
couragement we are tempted to feel
that 1t makes no difference to God
whether we do good or evil. We
look about and see good men suffer
ing and bad men prospecting Though
there are many good men prospecting
and bad men suffering, and we say.
What does God carer" But let us
not be deceived las therefore the
tares are gathered and burned In the
fire, so shall it be in the end OF this
world"
Other Important Truths.
J. All good men are of Gods SOW
ing, All real goodness is from the
Nood One.
q This world belongs to Christ. 1t
was 'his" neld into which the enemy
came by night.
3. While the wheat is not helped
by contact with the tares good men
are often disciplined and strengthen
ed by contact with the wicked.
4. If God Is patient with the wicked
you and ! can afford to be. Not in
different but patient,
4 s. The good will eventually over
come the evil and be separated from
1T.
s. IL evil has such fearful propa-
eating power. should net exercise