Attention: Requires Discernment

And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?”        Matthew 13:27 ESV1

Read Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43

We live in a world full of warnings. Countless things from street signs to machinery, from weapons to toys, and from controlled substances to tags on mattresses remind us to use caution before proceeding. Before I sat down to write this morning, I was alerted to several possible dangers. Caution: Do not exceed recommended dose was printed on the label of my vitamins. Attention: Very Hot Liquid was prominently displayed on my coffee maker. And even Warning: do not use if you are allergic to aspirin was printed on my tea bag. Though some of the notices that advise us to use caution seem redundant—like hot liquid coming out of a coffee maker—others are quite practical. For instance, I am not allergic to aspirin, but if I were, the unexpected warning on my tea bag could have saved my life.

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Final Warnings from the Sermon on the Mount

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven. Matthew 7:21 ESV1

Read Matthew 7:13-29, 13:1-30 & Luke 6:43-49

Jesus was up on the mountain teaching His committed followers. He had already given them some pretty radical teachings on a variety of subjects. The above words are among His closing remarks. These final few paragraphs contain the most important instructions His followers were going to need to know as they headed down the mountain and back into their daily lives. If any of them were beginning to doze off, these serious words would have perked up them. They should do the same for us.

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