The food and weeds have to coexist … for now.

You know how wheat is a grain that people make into food like bread? Well, a tare is a weed that looks a lot like wheat. That’s part of the danger in the parable the Savior shared in Matthew 13. An innocent person looking for wholesome wheat could get a nasty weed instead!

In the parable, the landowner tells his servants not to pull out the tares just yet, because they might accidentally uproot the wheat in the process. Instead, he says, let them all grow together for now, and they would separate them at harvest time. Jesus explains what this represents:

• The field is the world.
• The wheat is “the children of the kingdom,” or those who are righteous.
• The tares are “the children of the wicked one,” or people who are unrighteous.¹
• The harvest is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.²

In other words, the wicked and righteous will live together until Jesus Christ comes again. We can get ready for His return by doing all we can to make ourselves, our homes, and our communities better. If we prepare, we need not fear!³

And remember, Satan is trying to lie to you—to feed you weeds instead of food. He doesn’t want you to spend time with strengthening, nourishing people or activities. He would rather watch your soul become miserably malnourished. But you can choose to follow the Spirit and find the wheat in your daily decisions instead.

NOTES
1. Matthew 13:38.
2. See Matthew 13:39.
3. See 1 Nephi 22:17.