By Cathy Taylor
I travelled last summer to the mountains between Austria and Germany for a retreat we were having with our German & French missionaries. From our deck, we overlooked a placid lake there in the Alps and at night I noticed a light on top of one of the distant mountains. I was told the next morning that the light was from the Eagle’s Nest, one of Hitler’s hideouts during WWII. In the midst of such spectacular beauty, God’s own handiwork, I was once again reminded of gross evil in His beautiful world. It was not that long ago, such wickedness, which touched every person across the world, reigned in that part of the European Continent.
A few weeks back, I was riding one of our Washington State Ferries from Southworth to Fauntleroy. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm fall day and Mt. Rainier was glistening to the south. I was shocked to look out the windows of the ferry to see that two little Patrol boats were escorting us from the Coast Guard on both sides of our Ferry, with a guardsman standing behind a machine gun, ready to fire if needed. Such exquisite beauty to enjoy and such enormous evil confronting us everywhere we look.
Not long after that I was sitting next to a mom at a dinner that was grieving over the loss of her firstborn son a few months before. I asked her how she was doing, to which she replied, “I don’t know how to even feel right now. I am just numb. I am still in disbelief it even happened.” The only response I could give her was how sorry I was. The only gift I could give her was a little book about the truth of Heaven. Her son was robbed & shot to death for his I-Phone.
A few weeks later I heard the heart-wrenching story of a precious young woman who had been molested by a cousin over many years. She was intimidated with words and physical beatings if she ever revealed this terrible wickedness to anyone who could have saved her from her tormentor. “Lord,” I cry to myself in my heart, “Why does it take so long? When will you come and save us from all this blatant cruelty? Redeem us all….now!” The two above-mentioned crimes were both perpetrated by young women.
I see in Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus’ answer to my questions, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 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? 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? But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. '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.'""
When I read His truth, I see that the enemy has sown evil seeds in this world. Jesus has sown the good seeds, full of light and love. (Matt.13:37-43) Tares surround us, growing up side-by-side & all around us. We feel overshadowed at times, the good wheat seemingly crowded out. But, this will last only until harvest time, until the “end of the age!” Jesus will then send forth the angelic reapers, who will gather the wheat into the Father’s Barn, but the tares will be gathered up to be burned in the furnace. That is, “all causes of sin and all evildoers! …”Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up. (Matt.15:13) Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matt.13:43)
I am convicted to hear the truth; to listen and take heed not to allow any bad seeds to germinate in my heart producing any life choking weeds. I am encouraged to wait patiently for our Righteous Lord to return. He sees all and knows all. "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. (Matt.16:27) Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev.22:20)
