We all crave neatly categorizing things in our minds. It is easy to look at the externals and make judgments as to who belongs to Jesus and who doesn’t. Although God knows the heart, we often don't. In a church gathering there are both believers and make-believers, and to the naked eye it’s often difficult to detect who is who. In any church ministry there are those who serve out of a deep desire to glorify God, while others might appear no different externally but seek to glorify themselves. Many children have been raised in the church long enough to have mastered the Christian terms needed to play the part, yet have not made the decision to truly follow Jesus as Lord and Savior. Though we like to play the judge, we are actually in no position to judge. For this reason, the good news of Jesus should always be coming forth from our lips, both to seeming believers and to obvious unbelievers, because we actually don't always know who needs to hear the message.

We read the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares in Matthew 13:24-30, and it’s explained by Jesus in 13:36-43. We see the setting in 13:24-26, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared." In reality, tares have the same color, shape, and fragrance as wheat, but no heads of grain forms on them. These tares take in nutrients, take up space, but produce nothing in return, and are unidentifiable until harvest time. We read in 13:30, the instructions to the servants, "Let them both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." Jesus explains the conclusion of this parable clearly in 13:41-43, "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let them hear!"

God knows who belong to Him and who do not. We don’t have this ability. This doesn’t mean we should walk around fearing the salvation of those around us to decipher who are really believers and who are make-believers, who are authentic Christians and who are counterfeit Christians. What it does mean is that we are never to allow ourselves to slip into complacency or presumption. The gospel truth should be flowing from our lips continuously to anyone and everyone, especially because we can't be certain who is who. Jesus gave all of us the commission to move forward, as servants empowered by His presence and His truth to the world. We are His servants, not His judges. So, knowing Who it is that we serve, knowing the absolute truth of the ramifications for eternity for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ and those who make the choice to not do so, may we boldly step out in our respective mission fields, making the most of every opportunity and making the most of every minute that He chooses to give us breath.