THE TARES (Weeds) AMONG THE WHEAT

Evil Efforts To Overcome Divine Influences

Jesus said, 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 heads, 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.
The servants asked him, Do you want us to go and pull them up?
'No, he answered, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the
weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' ". . .
..
(MATTHEW XIII: 24-30, 36-43)

THE STRUGGLE

Our minds are battle-grounds between good and evil influences. Heaven seeks to win us to its blessings, and hell
strives to drag us into its miseries and the choice between them lies with ourselves.

DISTINCTIONS

The parable of "The Tares" exhibits the threats which grow alongside the good seed of truth, even after it has been

planted in the good soil of a loving heart. These dangers arise from the efforts of evil spirits which come to destroy

the work of the Divine Sower.

There are two sowers, the Lord, sowing good seed, for a harvest of heavenly life,

and the devil, sowing bad seed

In this parable, the trouble is not with the nature of the ground, but with the work of the devil/evil spirits.

THE FIELD

"The field," where the seed is sown, "is the world." It is the mental world, the natural mind, which is the world's part of

persons mind.
The principles of good and truth are implanted in the interior parts of persons mind, their spiritual mind; but they must

also be implanted in their outward or natural mind.

The Lord sows the seed of His holy truth, not only in persons spirit, but also in their natural mind, that it may grow

and govern their outward life.

We are placed between two kingdoms, heaven and hell. Influences from both kingdoms operate upon us.

The Sower goes forth to sow, in our minds. He sows good seed only. He sows in the bright, warm daylight.

But, at the same time, the cunning devils observe what the Lord is doing for us; and stealthily, under cover of mental

night, in times when we are spiritually asleep, engrossed in the things of the senses, they come upon us, unawares,

and sow in our unheeding minds, the infernal seeds of false and evil principles.

Seeds from both are sown in our natural minds. As we appreciate the heavenly seed, we need to go on and cultivate

it, and not to be cast down by the sight of some tares/weeds among our wheat.

If we press on to the harvest of our good principles, our Lord will give us light and strength to put away the

tares/weeds.

The Divine Truth acts in judgment, and expels from a persons character all things that are opposite to his ruling-love

and his daily life.

MEETING EVIL

In the mental world of our natural minds, engaged with natural things, evil influences are about us, claiming our

attention, and making their suggestions.

Therefore, in our natural minds, good and evil influences struggle for the mastery. The Lord sows good seed, but the

devil plants weeds.

The danger of digging up the weed with the wheat is two-fold;

1st danger of dragging up the roots of the wheat while pulling up the darnel/weed, and

2nd A mental danger of mistaking the growing wheat-plant for the darnel/weed.

The darnel/weed seeds are poisonous and look exactly like the wheat plant in its early stages.

MENTAL WEEDS

These tares/weeds, represent false principles, originating in evil, and leading to evil.

Thorns, represent the spontaneous outgrowth of the unregenerate mind, the lusts of the flesh, the inborn tendencies
toward evil.
 Also, the tares/weeds planted in the mind represent the false suggestions that are secretly insinuated into the mind,

by evil spirits.

While the Lord plants truth, the devil plants falsities, even in the good ground.

And the devil does his sowing while a person sleeps; that is, while they are immersed in the things of the senses, and

paying little attention to spiritual things. These suggestions reach us by means of our natural tendencies to evil and

falsity.

Very naturally, we suppose these suggestions of evil spirits to be our own thoughts. And the enemy goes on his way,

unsuspected. We do not recognize the origin of our sensuous thoughts.

DISCOVERING THE WEEDS

As the weeds grow among the wheat, at first, they appear alike; but, the more fully each is developed, the more their
difference is seen.

In their fruit, they are most fully distinguished; "By their fruits ye shall know them." We are best able to discover the

quality of our own evils and misleading thoughts, by the growth of good and truth, in our own minds; for these reveal
the opposite character of the evils and misleading thoughts.

As we grow to be better, our evils are shown to be worse. A bad person will not give up evil habits, except in the

outward appearance. But the better a person becomes, the more they feel disgusted towards their own bad habits.

As the wheat matures and shows its character, the weeds show their distinct character.

Until we are sufficiently interested in the truth to love it, and to live by it, its influence is not strong enough to reveal to
us the real character of our mental" weeds." Only from the love of good, can evil be thoroughly distinguished.

THE BLADE SPRINGING UP

" But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares, also." When the truth begins to

take root in our minds, and to grow to fruit, making changes in our minds, then we discover, also, the weeds then we,
begin to see something of the character of the things which the evil spirits have suggested to us.

As the truth begins to affect our will, we see that opposite things, things of selfish and sinful life, have been sown in
our natural minds. We knew these things were in our minds, before, but we did not know their real character.

How often the devils sow their infernal seed of false persuasions in our too-ready minds, when we know not the origin
of our thoughts; and when we discover their quality only by their results; knowing them only by their fruits.
 WHY ARE WEEDS PERMITTED

Why does the Lord permit these tares/weeds to be sown? For two reasons:

In the first place, a persons own inborn tendencies to evil lay them open to suggestions of evil spirits, and incline
them to hear, and to favor, such suggestions.

In the second place, such weeds can, in the Divine Sense, be used for the good of a person, as temptations, which
allow a person to see their own tendencies, and thus to put them away.

As a person learns the truth, and seek to live by it, the evil spirits excite their natural tendencies to evil. The person
discovers their own real condition - without this discovery, there could not be any rebirth.

Without truth, a person would not know their evils to be evils. And without temptations, they would not be able to
reject evils. The work of the devils is, in the Divine Providence, turned to the good of the renewing person.

GATHERING THE WEEDS

When we first catch a glimpse of the character of the negative influences which are in our minds, and which we fear

will bring forth evil fruits, we are very confident that we can uproot and remove them.

We want to remove all things that are not as we think they should be.

We would call down fire from heaven upon them.

But our Lord teaches us that we are not yet in condition to do such work thoroughly; and that, in fact,

the angels are the ones to do it.

When the servants asked the householder, " Wilt thou, then, that we go and gather them up?" he replied, ., Nay, lest,

while ye gather up the tares, ye root up, also, the wheat, with them. Let both grow together, until the harvest." "The

harvest is the end of worldliness, in us. The general character of the mind keeps pace with rebirth. We cannot put

away evil and false things, except as we outgrow them. Notice that the servants knew the tares to be weeds; but the

time had not come to uproot them. So, when we see the character of our negative thoughts, we can understand what

they are, and what is to be done with them, when the right time comes.
 Suppose you see that a negative thought or idea has been growing in your mind; and you determine to uproot it,

because it is evil. But you go to work in your own power, and are self-confident. Now, you think you have expelled the

false idea. But you have also dug up, at the same time, your humble, growing trust in the Lord.

We cannot suddenly expel from our minds all ideas that are not negative. But, by a gradual development of the good

and true principles of our inward minds, we can outgrow the negative thoughts of our natural minds.

When we learn the Lord's truth, and love it, and live by it, and so form our minds in a good life, we come to harvest.

Then the good that is in us, from the Lord, sees the character of the false things in the natural mind; and our hearts
are brought into a state of complete hatred towards such negative thoughts.

THE EVIL SPIRITS

Every evil principle in our hearts, and every false thought in our intellects, is an enemy to our souls, and to our Lord.

The more we turn to evils, and listen to the promptings of evil spirits, the more we turn away from the Lord, and from
heaven.

Nothing that any evil spirit would suggest to us could be true, because" he was a liar from the beginning, and there is
no truth in him."

But the difficulty is to induce us to recognize the fact that the influences which sow wrong notions in our minds are our

enemies. While we are asleep in our sensuous indifference to spiritual life, false suggestions seem to promise us
pleasure.

THE ANGELS / GOOD SPIRITS

Divine truths are the angels, who act as the reapers of the harvest. They gather the wheat, the good, into heaven, as

the Lord's barn; and they bind the evils and negative thoughts into bundles, and burn them; i. e., they set in order, or

classify, the various things of our minds, putting every principle of renewed life in its place, in heaven, and rejecting

every infernal principle to its place in hell.

This parable teaches us not to expect that this earth will be, to us, an easy paradise, as soon as our rebirth begins.

All things that offend cannot then be plucked from our minds. "In the world, ye shall have tribulation." We must

overcome the world in ourselves.

Then, like our Lord, we shall find the world our servant, not our master.

SEPARATING MISLEADING THOUGHTS

A person cannot altogether reject from their mind a negative thought, until you reject the evil feeling which delights in

that deceptiveness.

But no person will avoid evil until they have learned to love good, and to hate evil. As our hearts grow warm in the

love of good, our eyes open more fully in the light of truth; and we see things differently.

When a person becomes reborn in Truth and Love, gradually their negative thoughts and habits will melt away like

icicles before the noon-day sun of spring-time.

May Peace Always Be With You and Your Spirit