“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:43)
Expanded Passage: Matthew 13:42-43
As a dutiful parent, I took my children to be vaccinated as they were about to start school. I felt particularly bad about taking my son, who had no sense of what a shot was like. He was cheerful at the doctor’s office. He thought nothing of the needle until he felt it.
Sometimes God lets us go through unpleasant times in our lives. We may wonder at the time if God loves us. Why would God allow such pain? We do not always know the answers in this life. What we know is that God knows everything. We may not understand, but nothing that happens to us ultimately contradicts God’s love for us. As Paul says, “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17).
The wheat in this parable may be surrounded by troubles in this life. God does not always root them out now. Sometimes we have to wait for the harvest to experience the delight of God’s bread. But our destiny is clear. We will shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father. As the old song goes, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.”
Thank God and affirm your faith in our eternal hope!
Ken Schenck is vice president for university partnerships with Campus EDU. He previously served as vice president for Houghton College (NY) and dean of Wesley Seminary (IN).
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
