Food for Friday
The Son of Man shall send forth His angels and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity. Matthew 13:41
I had taken at the flower bed with a hoe, to clean out the few weeds and bits of grass that had begun to emerge. I thought I had removed them all. But it rained hard for the next couple of days, and when I went past the flower bed on the third day, I noticed one of the weeds had not only survived but had stood up bright and bold as before. So I quickly picked it out and tossed it aside. Now the flower bed is clear of weeds and looks perfect…. for now. Weeds are the bane of every gardener; they keep reappearing from day to day, from week to week, and from year to year. Getting rid of them is impossible, just as it is impossible to root out all of this world’s troubles and troublemakers. But our text speaks of a time when it will happen.
Can you imagine a world in which there are no criminals? Even in police states such as communist countries and dictatorships, there are always some criminals working underground, and the police themselves become evil and corrupt. But even if we did manage to eliminate all the murderers, violent offenders, thieves, extortioners and embezzlers, and the highway speeders, backstreet muggers, and jaywalkers, we would still not have a perfect society. We would still have unkind and cruel gossipers, greedy and grasping people, and liars of all stripes imaginable. No, we certainly cannot imagine a world in which all things that offend are removed, even though we are assured that it will surely happen. When our Lord will reign on this planet for a thousand years, the world will see what is possible with a righteous ruler and a righteous enforcement of righteous rules. Comfort and security will be the hallmarks of that kingdom, far beyond what we can understand today. That time is coming. But it should have already arrived in our hearts.
What the coming kingdom will be like for this world should already be taking place with the lives of the believers. Today, it is the Holy Spirit, not the angels, who is removing from us those things that offend. His goal for us is the removal of all dishonesty, all unkindness, all selfishness, and all bad and annoying habits be removed from our personalities. He removes those things, because He works to make us to be more like the Lord Jesus. And He succeeds as we allow Him to use the Word of God to do its work.
When the Millenium arrives, the world will behold and say, ‘So that’s what the Christians were trying to show us’. But they will say that then only if we are faithful today. -Jim MacIntosh