As ministry leaders our primary influence is stored-up in the treasure-house of our presence. Just as the presence of God in our life transforms us, our presence in the lives of those we serve has a kind of “radioactive” impact. We radiate the treasures of our soul when we interact with others. It makes sense, then, that we focus on filling our soul’s storehouse with, well, more treasure. Put another way, the people we engage in ministry are nourished by the fruit they find on our “branch.” And that fruit is produced by our intimate attachment to the Vine, who is Jesus.
Embedded in Jesus’ “Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds” (Matthew 13:24-30) is one of His many “botanical metaphors.” He often uses a truth about something in the natural world to highlight a truth about the supernatural world, what He calls “the Kingdom of God.” As a reminder, here is the parable:
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. “‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
Jesus uses stories like this parable as His Kingdom “operating system.” He’s trying to help us understand how things work. Story works to construct, give meaning to, and set boundaries around our experience of reality. And our own story is the “narrative code” that unlocks the meaning behind our experiences in life. The story we tell ourselves about ourselves determines how we function, and influences our limitations and possibilities in life.
Dan McAdams, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University, calls this our “narrative identity”—it’s our own personal mythology, complete with plot twists, thematic threads, and heroes and villains. McAdams says we tell ourselves two basic self-narratives: 1) Redemptive Stories, and 2) Contamination Stories. The first kind of story is transplanted from the Kingdom of God, where redemption is not only the mission of the Messiah, but also the heartbeat of life. The second kind of story is exported and propagated by the Kingdom of Darkness, where “killing, stealing, and destroying” (John 10:10) is the mission.
And so, we have a life story that is like a field—good things grow up in it (the “wheat”), and bad things (planted by an enemy) also grow up in it (the “weeds”). And in our story—or interior narrative—He’s decided to let the weeds (or contamination stories) grow side-by-side with the wheat (or redemptive stories), until the “harvest,” when the weeds will be pulled. This leaves us with two questions: 1) Why does He allow the weeds to grow along with the wheat in our story? 2) What is the “harvest” He’s referencing?
Jesus is trying to influence the narrative of our life, using our contamination stories as fuel for our overshadowing story of redemption. Of course, the weeds in our story can certainly crowd out the wheat. But master gardeners know that weeds have a powerful impact on the growth of “the good stuff“…
- Weeds feed the “pollinators” in our life.
Gardeners know that “weeds are a fundamental food source for pollinators, especially in the early months of spring, and without them, they would not survive.” Metaphorically, this means that the weeds in our story attract pollinators, or recurring sources of life. It makes sense if you think about it—your over-demanding parents make you feel as though you’re never enough, planting the weed of shame in your life. And shame, gone to seed, attracts the pollinator of grace as an answer to the poverty we feel.
- Weeds, as they break down in us, fertilize richer soil for our wheat.
“As weeds die and decay,” say gardening experts, “their roots break down, feed microorganisms and insects, and make pathways and tunnels for worms… Bountiful life below means plentiful life above.” As our weeds disintegrate in our soul, they leave a kind of residue—our insecurities are not compensated by arrogance, they’re redeemed by our dependence on God’s strength, not our own. Our struggles below the surface invite an abiding that produces fruit above the surface.
- Weeds break up the “hard soil” of our soul.
Weeds, say master gardeners, “have giant roots [that] break up hard-packed layers of soil, making it easier for the roots of other plants to permeate.” After I finished a sermon on God’s redemptive purpose in suffering, a friend approached me, worried: “I’ve never really experienced anything truly hard—I’m afraid I’m missing something.” And I said, “You don’t need to worry if pain will find you—it will. And when it does it will feel like it’s breaking you. But what it’s really doing is breaking up the certainty and rigidity in our soul, opening us to the neediness that draws us into intimacy.”
- Weeds actually hold our “soil” in place.
“The roots of weeds have a web-like structure that helps hold the soil they break up in place,” say gardeners. Because our weeds are threaded through our soul, we simply can’t pull them out through strength of will. Jesus tells Paul, frustrated and desperate for his “thorn” to be removed, that His “power is perfected through weakness.” Instead of the strength he craves through self-sufficiency, his strength will come through the grace prompted by weakness.
Jesus is always working to plant redemption in the stories of those He encounters, and in our own story. He’s a storyteller who’s trying to tell a story of beauty in our soul—and the story He’s telling in our life is a Romance. And it’s this romance story that fills up our treasure-house.
Help Is On the Way!
Fall is fast approaching, and we innovative, practical resources that will help you infuse your ministry environment with “rich soil” for transformation. First up, Following Jesus is a curriculum resource you can use with both adults and teenagers in your church this fall—help them explore what an ABIDING/REMAINING relationship with Jesus is like. It’s an experiential, highly interactive, co-discovery way to invite people into deeper intimacy with Jesus. And The Life of Jesus TalkCards is a simple, devotional way to invite small groups into the heart of Jesus.
Meanwhile, my new book Editing Jesus is now out. If you’d like an extended teaser of the book, just to check it out, the publisher has put together a pdf of the first three chapters that is exclusively available to the Vibrant Faith community. So, here you go… Just click on this link and you can download a pdf of this long excerpt from the book.
Rick Lawrence is Executive Director of Vibrant Faith—he created the new curriculum Following Jesus. He’s editor of the Jesus-Centered Bible and author of 40 books, including his new release Editing Jesus: Confronting the Distorted Faith of the American Church, The Suicide Solution, The Jesus-Centered Life and Jesus-Centered Daily. He hosts the podcast Paying Ridiculous Attention to Jesus.
A Deeper Way to Lead Others Into Faith Maturity… Guide your people into depth relationally and experientially… A new curriculum by Rick Lawrence for both youth & adult ministries. Learn More Here
