Jesus shows through these parables that the Kingdom of God consists of growing and becoming fruitful and bountiful, where even the smallest seeds of faith grow to be great in the love of God and others. The source of that growth is our relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church. Our union with Christ, rooted in our faith and our baptism, allows us to participate in the divine life of God, and act as his children.
The enemy of this growth, however, is sin, the weeds in our lives that are entangled in us. Think about what weeds do. They take away potential resources and nutrients from other plants, thus stunting their growth and not allowing the plant to reach its full potential. The roots of the weeds can get close and mixed with the roots of the plants, making the weeds harder to remove.
Remember, all of us were created to grow in the love and friendship of God, with our final end being with God in heaven for eternity. But if we let our sins, those weeds, grow too much, they can become ingrained within, hold us back, and be difficult to remove.
Now Jesus said in the parable to leave the good and bad grow together until the time of harvest. It can seem that Jesus is implying that one is either a good seed or a bad seed from the start, and that it doesn’t change. You’re either a child of the kingdom, or a child of the devil. The truth of course, is that we are capable of being both good or bad. We change throughout our lives, and at any moment, we can be growing closer to God, or moving further away from Him.
And it is for that reason that Jesus says in the parable to wait until the time of harvest, the time of judgement. Because God is indeed the judge, but he also desires to grant mercy. He allows for us to always be able to turn back to him in repentance. And that is our reason to hope, that for whatever foolish mistakes and actions we may take, we can be repentant and turn ourselves back to God.
And it is important that we are repentant, truly sorrowful for our sins, truly desiring to leave them behind. It is that attitude and action that allows God to richly bless us in his goodness and mercy, to receive incredible growth in the divine life and love of God.
That’s also why we are not to pass judgment on a person. God is the judge, and he will make the judgment on a person, not us. And when that time does come, there will be those who are gathered to the eternal joys of heaven, and those thrown to the eternal sufferings of hell.
So the question becomes for us, at the time of harvest, the end of our lives, are we wheat or weed? That depends on you. Do you seek the eternal life, love and mercy of God that brings you to fulfillment? Do you prefer the sins that choke away your eternal life in Christ?
To help, I advise a daily examination of conscience. This means taking a little bit of time everyday to examine the things you did that day. What you did well, want you didn’t, how you could have done things differently. Giving thanks to God for what is good, and asking God for guidance on how to improve. A daily examine helps to keep you self-aware, and to better guide you toward living well your Christian faith.
So always seek to allow God’s grace to allow you to grow and bear fruit, not only for yourself, but for others around you. So that on the day of judgment, you may find yourself led by the angles to paradise, to the glorious kingdom of God.