“Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed ears, then the weeds also appeared. ‘The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?” ‘“An enemy did this,” he replied.” (Matthew 13:24-28)
“…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)
At times it seems like we are living in an unsettled, chaotic world in which uncertainties and upheavals and reversals increase daily. Across our world, fundamental ‘human’ values and once-universal mores are being upended and discarded. How alarming it is that even basic biblical teachings on compassion and mercy are being dismissed as ‘nasty’ and something that the churches should apologise for. How incomprehensible it is that some ‘evangelicals’ seem quite undisturbed by this shift in thinking – indifferent to it and actually supportive of it. As Jesus’ parable reminds us, an enemy is at work amongst us. In the guise of promoting ‘greatness’ our enemy is sowing the opposite: smallness. Fragmentation, division, and bullying seem to multiply. The fruit of the Spirit is being systematically challenged with the fruits of the sinful nature. It has become abundantly clear that there is a spiritual struggle going on in our world. “Whoever has ears let them hear.” Let us hold fast to our King and to the values of the Kingdom of God
Welcome to the front line!