What does it mean to say that a Parable is "true to life?"......I604-7-3.

The fact that Jesus spoke in parables was a fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture. "I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old— things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.” Psalm 78:2-3

“All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 13:34-35

According to the author, a parable is a true-to-life short story designed to teach a truth or to answer a question. The central point of the parable of the wheat and the tares is to not throw the good out with the bad. A farmer had sowed good seed in his field but while he and his men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. Had the farmer allowed his hired hands to tear out the tares, they would’ve also removed the good wheat. The farmer let them grow up side-by-side until harvest time. The tares were burnt and the wheat was stored. All details are relevant to the parable.

The Parable of the tares is explained by Jesus in Matthew 13:36-40. Matthew 13:40-43 should really put the fear of God into one’s heart.

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

In my case I’ve neglected the eBay soapbox for weeks due to workload. Believe me the soapbox has far more tares than wheat when equating tares to those who are hostile to Christianity and the wheat to those who are at least a little more open-minded. I try to visit the soapbox often and respond to some of the more outrageous claims by the Christian bashers. Again, I am looking for the wheat existing amoung the tares.

On a personal note, we can work so hard trying to bring someone into the kingdom and then one comment can destroy all the effort. I saw this firsthand with friend #1 who seemed to be receptive to the Word until friend #2 told him he was going to hell if he didn't charge his New Age believes. Friend #2 is reminiscent of Matthew 13:33. This parable suggests that even a little sin (puffing up due to leaven) will ruin the whole, unlike the parable of the wheat and the tares where some is harvested.