There are days when the dysfunction and brokenness of the world can be overwhelming. Gardens grow weeds, governments migrate toward tyranny and rejection of the moral law seems to be the order of the day. On top of all this I see my own tendency toward selfishness and rebellion. Everywhere I look I see chaos that results from the Fall.

In thinking about this today, a song lyric started running through my head:

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

These lyrics are from the song Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson which provide a needed reminder of the victory that has been won over the chaos around me and within me.

Yet, the Cross is on only the beginning of the victory. The third verse of the song provides the ultimate encouragement:

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

As Paul tells us in Romans 1:4, the resurrection is the proof that Jesus has the power to conquer the chaos.

When despair seems to be the logical response to all the problems we can see, it is then that we must choose to look beyond the chaos to see the risen Christ as triumphant. He is large and in charge and at some point in time will set all right.

Jesus himself told us,

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”” (John 16:33, ESV)

Jesus wins. I’m good with that.

In Matthew 13:25-30, Jesus uses a parable to illustrate the fact that not everyone who attends church or claims to be a Christian is the genuine article. In the parable, we learn that an enemy has sown weeds (tares) in the wheat field to displace the good crop. The implication is that anything that is of value will be counterfeited for selfish ends and we should not be surprised when we find non-believers in our churches. This sounds so black and white and from God’s perspective, perhaps it is.

My experience in the church has shown me that even among believers there is “tarish” behavior. These are people who may have a genuine relationship with God, but are not following the Apostle Paul’s command to renew their minds (Romans 12:1-2) and grow. As a result, they remain stuck in their behavior and fail to progress in spiritual growth.

It is doubly concerning when these tarish Christians rise to positions of leadership and influence within the church. Too often leaders rise in the church because they are talented, driven or both. I have in mind a real church in a real city where a very gifted preacher took the primary leadership position from his predecessor who retired. The gifted preacher was not of sufficient character to be effective in leadership of that church but his talent masked this fact for a long time. But in the end, he left a swath of destruction within his family and within that church which could no longer be masked.

Now, you might argue that Jesus is using the tares to illustrate non-believers and this talented preacher certainly could not have been a non-believer. Yes, I’m certain that he had indeed made a profession of faith and it is likely that his theology was Biblical correct and well understood. Yet, James tells us that our faith is evidenced by our works and when a leader has a pattern of hurting people and leaves carnage behind him, one might not question his beginning in faith, but one certainly must question his continued growth.

I’m writing this because a good friend of mine is still reeling from the devastation that resulted from the imprudent selection of this man to be the pastor in that real church in a real city. I have a mixture of sadness and anger in response to this situation. In praying and thinking about this, I was reminded about the parable of the tares. In a sense God was saying to me, don’t be surprised by this. Also the parable teaches me that in addition to being unsurprised, I should also be aware that the Master Harvester has it under control, knows the situation and will respond accordingly.

The good news is that the existence of a thousand counterfeits does not nullify the existence of the real thing. There are many churches where the pastor and leadership team are seeking personal growth in their relationship with God and are seeking to lead others into that growth. While these genuine shepherds may not have the glitz, polish and dynamism that the great orators possess, a steady diet of teaching from such a man will provide for real growth. Meatloaf, string beans and potatoes may not have the pizzazz of sushi, filet mignon or pad thai, but the lack of pizzazz does not detract from its nutritional value.

Satan, the enemy who sows tares, will occasionally be lucky enough to get one of those tares into leadership. While this is regrettable, we should not be surprised. God certainly is not.

In reading the Gospels, I have previously commented upon Jesus’ response to those around him. For example, think of his response to the woman at the well in John 4. In such a small town, all everyone would have known of her marital state, or lack thereof. Yet, Jesus thinks it was important enough to speak with her that he took the detour through Samaria.

Think also of Jesus’ calling of Levi. Jesus chose Levi (Matthew) to be one of his disciples (Mark 2:14) despite the fact that Levi participated in the oppression of the Jews through the tax system.

Genesis 1:26 tells us that God created man in his own image. I see God’s image as the source of our concept of personhood, our need for community, our ability to love and our ability to make choices. Certainly there are other aspects to this, but these come to mind.

Perhaps Jesus’ response to these and others was due to his ability to recognize a small spark of the image of God in the people around him no matter how buried it was through suffering, abuse and poor choices. Perhaps when he looked at them, he did not see them as they are but as they could be. Jesus, being God, was in a position to restore the image that was damaged by life.

This then begs a few questions. If Jesus could see that spark in the people around him and begin the process of restoration. Why do some of us (many of us?) view ourselves as stuck in our own story of difficulty and poor choices? We may claim Philippians 1:6 as a promise but not live as though we believe it applies to us.

Or, why do some of us fail to see the people around us as Jesus sees them? We can walk through the crowds and look down on the homeless person begging for a few coins. Worse yet, we can be glad that people of questionable reputation do not feel comfortable darkening the door of our church.

Maybe seeing others as the image of God is part of how we can fulfill the command in Philippians 3:3 to regard the needs of others before meeting our own needs. Perhaps with this view, we won’t view anyone as beyond the ability to be redeemed. Perhaps we will be able to get out of our comfort zone and do something significant in someone’s life.

Maybe, just maybe, if we could see people the way that Jesus sees them, the church might be the first place people look to find solace in a crisis. Too often, it is the last place people look in fear of finding nothing but judgment.