The parable of the tares among the wheat (1) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Matthew 13:24-25

The parable of the tares among the wheat (1)
At a trade fair in Holland, one exhibitor had hung up thirteen sacks with the seed of various plants mentioned in the Bible. They attracted lively attention from two monks of a religious order. They looked up the relevant passages in their own Bibles.
Under the last sack stood the name "lolch". That puzzled them, as they could not find the expression in the Bible verse quoted. So they asked the owner of the stand, who explained that, as the word "lolch" was unknown to most readers of the Bible, the word had been translated by "tares".
Very soon the three were discussing the meaning of the parable of the wheat and the tares (cf. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). They were agreed that "lolch" was a weed deceptively similar to wheat and designates ingenuine professing Christians in the parable.
Finally one of the monks remarked to his companion, "This gives us a good sermon for next Sunday." Thereupon the owner of the stand interpolated, "Yes, but first on must determine one's own standpoint from the parable."
"What do you mean?" the other asked, perplexed. - "I presume you both belong to the same church and the same religious order. To all appearances there is no difference between you. Yet it could be that one of you is wheat and the other tares. God alone knows."
(to be continued tomorrow)
Today's reading: 2 Samuel 3:17-39