Matthew 13 shows Jesus teaching a truth that, on the surface, seems neither kind nor fair. But, like so many hard sayings of Jesus, it’s difficult only until you un understand His meaning.
For to whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
Jesus actually said those words. Some politicians of our time would have a field day if their opponent said something like that. And many opponents of Christianity have tried to leverage those words in their fight against Jesus.
What Jesus was doing with that statement was showing the chasmic difference between God’s Kingdom and the kingdom of the world (the system that leaves God out) whose king is Satan (the god of this age).
The difference in the two kingdoms is so vast that one has everything while the other has nothing; one enjoys everlasting painless, glorious, victorious life while the other endures crying and writhing in the lonely, fearful darkness of utter defeat.
The difference in faith in Jesus and any other faith choice is more than religious nuance, more than an answer to what’s your religion? or we practice this while you practice that. The difference is everything important.
Jesus, with this statement, shows the difference between being in or not being in God’s family.
For clear understanding, read it this way: whoever is positioned in God’s family by having truth-based faith in Jesus will be given so much more understanding that their life will overflow; but those who reject the offered position in God’s family by rejecting Jesus will not only lack family, but will also lack understanding of the basic truths that Jesus teaches.
My wife, our kids and I, along, now, with our daughters- and son-in-law and grandkids, have knowledge of family matters that those outside the family don’t have. That’s the way it is with any family. Family is exclusive. Those included have access; those excluded do not.
The extremely good news is that everyone is invited into God’s family through choosing to trust in Jesus Christ.
If Matthew 13:12 makes you angry, please understand that anyone can have a place in God’s family. In fact, He wants everyone in His family (God loved the whole world so much that He gave His only begotten Son…It is not His will that any should perish).
Every one of us has an invitation to leave forever the have-nots and to ever be one of the haves. In this case, the have-nots are without excuse.
