The Field is the World

THE FIELD IS THE WORLD

Matt.13: 24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

Have you even been in an automobile, maybe even behind the wheel, and as you drive you come across a very subtle fork in the road. It is so subtle that you unknowingly veer to the right or the left and many miles later you realize you are no longer headed in the right direction? That has happened to me. And when you look once again at the map you realize that you have inadvertently veered off course. Yes the veer itself was subtle, but the consequences became increasingly dramatic. In the end you could never get to your desired destination without a course correction. Have you been there?

Well somewhere along the line the church in America veered off course and instead of allowing a course correction by God’s Spirit it has continued to go further and further off course. And now the church is so far away from the original course that it is headed in the opposite direction completely. So where did the ax head fall and just where did the church go off course?

Throughout the ministry of Jesus He again and again emphasized people. His ministry was to people and He would give His life for people. He was not interested in building earthly nations or political influence. Jesus had a world view of redemption, and He saw people as fields. We are so often warned about a one world system, and yet Jesus saw the entire world as fields that were white unto harvest. There is a vast difference in viewing the world as an American and viewing it as a Christian. Americans see people as non-Americans while believers should see people as fields.

This is no small issue. This has been the downfall of the western church and anyone who addresses it is met with less than pleasant objections. I have had my salvation questioned just because I have presented an accurate account of America and the founding fathers. But blindness has come over the church and she has earthly eyes that divide people into sin classes and national allegiances and even ethnicities. The fields are no longer labors of redemption. And now we hear voices that embrace a nation rather than embrace a Lord. That perspective is extremely counter productive to the kingdom God and it is a grievous sin. It is at odds with the persona and mission of Jesus.

We must see things as does our Blessed Savior. We have no right to say we believe in Jesus and then go our own way. Jesus is not an American and He does not view people as American or Swedish or Egyptian. He sees the entire world as the field, and when we get caught up in embracing and even loving the things of this present world we lose sight of our calling. We are not called to judge the world, we are called to reach the world. And we are not called to love and profess allegiance to the ground where God’s providence has placed us. No, we are called to the world without division and partiality.

Jn.4: 34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

How do you describe the color red to a blind man? What words can communicate that which can only understood with eyes? And so it is with the church and the average Sunday morning pew dweller who is caught up in the deception of nationalism and all its tentacles. I truly believe that this deception is so deep and entrenched that only a divine miracle will be able to deliver some. Most will not even give it a second thought. And most will listen to and follow their pastor or someone else who’s personage they hold in admiration. And the field continues to die right in front of our faces.

While we play temporal and worthless games of politics and legislated morality, souls meet their eternal death. What we call liberal God calls lost. What we call Muslim God calls lost. What we call socialist God calls lost. What we call conservative God calls self righteous. What we call capitalist God calls greed. You see? God has His own dictionary. But all of it is only divided into two parts - lost and saved, sheep and goats, and light and dark. But when we depart from that perspective we enter into a fallen world that condemns on many different levels. It is a moral cast system which excuses some sins and condemns others without a shred of redemption.

And so here we are as believers influenced by a church which has gone off the rails and seeks its own and not Christ’s. Our eyes are trained to see people in a kaleidoscope of moral, ethnic, religious, national, and many other perspectives. No longer do we see the world as a field. We have eyes of the flesh and not eyes of the Spirit. And we have quickly forgotten how God saw us and came to earth to rescue us because we could not rescue ourselves. And we were not seeking God, in fact we were His enemies and we were frolicking in our own sin.

But God did not see us as moral enemies who did not deserve His love and redemption. For reasons only completely known to Him, God came as a man and made a way for us. So what do you call someone who did not deserve redemption, but through God’s grace alone became a child of God, but who turns around and spits upon those who just moments ago enjoyed his company? What do you call people who were translated from darkness into light but who now cling to an earthly country and despise those who will not bow to it? What do you call those who have heard Jesus say that the meek shall inherit the earth and yet are brash, irritating, and loud in their condemnation of others?

I guess you can call them professing believers but you cannot call them followers of Jesus. Why have we so openly rejected the definition given by our Master and created all kinds of labels that have nothing to do with redemption? Why do we have such hatred for those who are replicas of our own past? Why can we speak so disparagingly about the same people for which Christ gave His life? We have become so self centered. And we have constructed a religion that elevates us and demeans others. Instead of weeping over the lost we castigate them as if they were nothing but animals, but we prop ourselves up on moral pedestals and bark out attacks.

Look out upon the world. Do you see fields or do you see irritating miscreants? Do you see the throngs in which you once romped, or do you see worthless human refuse? Can you even imagine that the power of redemption is strong enough to reach the vilest of sinners? And what do you think about Paul who wished that he himself would be accursed if his rebellious countrymen could be saved? Is that the kind of spirit the western church exhibits? Do you want to see where God’s heart beats? The fields, brethren, the fields. As the church in America weeps over a waving piece of cloth the heart of God beats for those who walk in darkness. The church places her hand over her heart in allegiance to a wicked empire while God’s kingdom calls allegiance to the Suffering Servant. What a paradox!

Lift up your eyes all you who call Christ your Master. Look out upon the desperate masses who are heading for a horrific eternity. Does that move you more than a patriotic song? Does it move you more than the life of your own dog? Does it move you more than your personal problems? If you say you love Christ than you must love the lost. Jesus wept over Jerusalem who would crucify Him, and yet we cannot bear the whips and scorns of the lost? Must we have our pound of flesh and our retribution? Or are we willing to die to ourselves and head out into the fields.

But count the cost if you go. These fields bite and sting. They say unkind things. They behave sinfully. If you are looking for morality you will find very little. If you expect the fields to be hospitable you will be disappointed. If you need praise and appreciation you may find the opposite. The fields have their own agenda. They are gay and straight and everywhere in between. They are pro-choice and even abortion doctors. They are NOW and Planned Parenthood. They are liberal and they do not share our family values. The may shout you down and hurl insults at your intelligence. They will hate you, everything you stand for, and they will hate your Christ. These are the fields, the same fields Jesus saw as He stepped down into Bethlehem’s manger.

So if you cannot endure persecution for His sake, then you should remain on the sidelines returning evil for evil, shouting for shouting, hate for hate, and expending your energies to save what cannot be saved. But please, if you choose that route, do not reveal that you follow Christ, because in reality, you do not.