“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, His enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also. The sevants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’ He says to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ He said ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
Jesus makes it clear that in the world there will always exist wheat and tares. Because of the tares, there will always be some discomfort for the wheat, but if we try to get rid of the tares, we create wars and other disruptive events that harm the wheat too.
This is where tares sincerely believe that they are wheat. Because of this, how do we know for sure that we are wheat and not a tare destined to eternal separation from God?
One test would be to know if we’re following the rules  at the Bible orfollowing Jesus. The Pharisees made the air of thinking that in following the rules, they were good.
1 John 3:9 says, “Whosoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” But, not sinning does not make us followers of Jesus but of the law. If I follow Jesus, I do not sin. In other words, following the rules does not make me a follower of Jesus. I live by his values as represented in the law. So how do I know if I am wheat or a tare? The only test is what controls my life, Jesus or the things of this world?
The world was created by God and is good, but when it begins to control our lives or dominate it, it becomes an issue. Then we are no longer following Jesus, but something from the world. Whether it is fun, status, money, or our job, or anything else. When we are a follower of Jesus, we leave it all in Jesus‘s hands and seek His kingdom instead. Matthew 6:33 tells us, “But seek first God’s kingdom, and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Another test is given in 1 John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God for God is love.” Does the love for Jesus and people of God dominate our lives or love for things.
If we are tare, Romans 6:3-4 tells us we can change into wheat and surrender our lives to Jesus. “Do you not know that as many of us were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
“And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again” -2 Corinthians 5:15.
Wheat and tare can look identical when growing, only God knows our true spiritual condition until the harvest. It’s up to us to prepare our lives that God sees wheat by actively cultivating our spiritual maturity, grace and resilience.
From Pity to Praise 