John answered them all, “I baptize you with water; but He Who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of Whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, to clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His granary, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Luke 3:16-17, RSV

When thinking about the Kingdom of God and the nature of His people this week, I was reminded of the line, ‘His winnowing fork is in His hand …” as a reminder that God is constantly in the process of, not only shaping us to become more like him, but weeding out the pretenders from His true followers.

In Matthew 19, we find Jesus approached by the Pharisees, who drill him on questions about eternal life, commandments and the kingdom. Seemingly fixated on deeds rather than faith, they ask him: “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” Acquiescing momentarily, he runs off a list of commandments. But then, when a likely rich, young man comes to him and says he has kept the commandments, Jesus ups the ante: “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

As we see in the following verse, this was an additional step of faith the young man, tragically, was not willing to make.

And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 19: 23-24, NAS

Here, we see Jesus clearing drawing a dividing line, a line in the sand. While God does not wish any to miss out on being part of his kingdom, he recognizes that some, because of their selfishness, pride, false religiosity, showmanship and lack of full and abiding acceptance of Christ, ultimately will be hewn from his side. The chaff, he says, will be burned with unquenchable fire.

Throughout this section of Matthew, we find Jesus speaking in parables because the true believers will understand and learn from the parables, while the pretenders and unbelievers will simply not grasp the meaning behind the stories. One such story about a wedding feast (Matthew 22:1-14) again draws a distinction between the few — God’s chosen, us, his people — and everyone else. When the father sent out his son to gather up guests for the wedding, those who had been invited (here, we can equate them with the Pharisees, non-gentiles or overtly religious people without true abiding faith) paid no attention to the invitation. They were punished. The father again opened up the invitation to those along the “main highways” (equated with the Gentiles). The father surveyed the room of guests, which included both people of good and evil, spotted one not clothed properly for the wedding and cast him out into the “outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 61:10, NAS

As his people, God wants us to be properly fitted for his service. Some may shimmer, present a “holy” demeanor and do all the right “church” things, but without an abiding, all-surrendered faith in Jesus, their presentation is tarnished and fading. Jesus’ winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will snatch up the good and cut off the bad. Just as the enemy is called the prince of darkness, was once shimmering but now a hobbled, fallen angel, so too are those who infiltrate the church and our lives in an attempt to skirt us off course. But his people are made precious in his site. In trusting Him with our lives, we not only gain the fruit of the spirit, we should relish it and vividly display it in our daily lives.

… For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, NAS

application

Today, thank God for calling you to himself. You are uniquely made and uniquely gifted. You have an intricate series of interests and talents to serve in his kingdom on earth in preparation and anticipation for the New kingdom. Ask God to make you steadfast in your faith, not only knowing in your head, but having an intimate knowledge of Him in your heart. Pray that you begin to trust him for fully each day and that he would rightly equip you for service in his kingdom. Be encouraged that, as a child of God, whether awake or asleep, you abide in him, and he abides in you.