Matthew 13:41-43 New International Version (NIV)
41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. Friday - July 3 - Read Matthew 13:41-43 Be careful not to turn this parable into an “us vs. them” story. In Matthew 3:11-12 John the Baptist declares that Jesus will come to burn away the chaff of sin in the world. Also, remember the Apostle Paul’s declaration that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The weeds are not simply all of the people in this world that we had deemed “bad” and worthy of condemnation. The weeds are in us! Our own hearts need to be weeded, pruned, and cleaned up! To be sure, there are really evil people in this world that the devil is using to do all sorts of wicked things. However, Jesus is starting with us and our hearts. Our sins are forgiven now and all the evil, wicked, and terrible stuff that still clings to us will be burned away and removed so that we “shine like the sun” in God’s kingdom.