By Aryanto Wijaya
2025 has been a year full of surprises. Nine years after graduating and working on my own, I was blessed with a scholarship for graduate studies. But just as my new academic journey began, life took an unexpected turn: I was diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalized. When I was discharged, I thought the worst was over. Sadly, another diagnosis followed. My doctor discovered a hidden problem—fatty liver causing inflammation, along with an abnormal surge in red blood cell production. My blood had thickened dangerously. “If left untreated,” the doctor warned, “you’re at risk of heart failure or stroke.”
My heart sank. What followed was a strict diet and regular bloodletting treatments (phlebotomy). It was exhausting to go through such draining procedures alone, far from home.
In the middle of all this, a close friend joked, “Why can’t your life ever be calm? Every month, something new comes up!” It was said lightly, with no offense intended. I simply replied, “No idea. I never saw this coming.”
Wheat, Weeds, and the Christmas Hope
Sickness is no stranger to any of us. Rich or poor, young or old—everyone is vulnerable. And so the question arises: if Christmas celebrates the coming of Jesus and the arrival of God’s kingdom, why does suffering remain? Why do I get sick? Why does the world still groan under pain?
Finding an answer can feel like trying to move a mountain. But a thoughtful reading of the Bible gives us a response that is both meaningful and life‑changing.
The Bible gives us an answer—not through complicated arguments, but through Jesus’ parables. His disciples once asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Jesus replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them” (Matthew 13:10-11).
In other words, parables are keys. For those who are open and searching, they unlock truth. For those with hardened hearts, they remain mere stories. To those with closed hearts who thought they had all the answers, the parables sounded like mere stories. But Jesus intended them to stir us beyond passive agreement. He wanted us to wrestle with their meaning, to dig deeper, and to ask: “Who am I in this parable? What lesson is He giving me?”
One of these parables is the story of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30). A farmer sowed good seed in his field, but at night an enemy scattered weeds among the wheat. When both grew, the servants asked if they should pull out the weeds. The farmer replied, “No, . . . because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.”
The disciples struggled to understand, and Jesus clarified the parable in the following verses (37-43). The field is the world, the wheat are the children of God, and the weeds are the children of the enemy. Both are allowed to grow until the end of time.
When Jesus began his ministry, He declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). This was not just an announcement—it was proof that the Harvester had come. Matthew also records that Jesus went throughout the region, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness (4:23). His words were followed by action: healing the sick, opening blind eyes, casting out demons. Each miracle was a sign that God’s kingdom was breaking into this broken world. It was as if Jesus was saying, “Look! The wheat is here. I am confronting the weeds—sin, sickness, and the devil.”
Hope in “Already, but Not Yet” Era
The parable reminds us that suffering will remain as long as we live in this world. The kingdom of God has already come, but it has not yet come in full. Theologians call this the “Already, but not yet.”
Christmas proclaims that the kingdom has arrived in Jesus. He is God’s kingdom living among us. His miracles are signs pointing us toward the final destination. Like a road sign that reads “Bandung 50 KM,” the sign doesn’t mean you’ve arrived—it means you’re on the right path and will reach your destination if you keep going. That’s what Jesus’ miracles mean: they assure us that complete restoration is coming in the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1).
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This truth gave me strength during painful treatments. Even though healing may not always come in this “Already, but Not Yet” era, we know we are on the right path. The kingdom has already broken into our world, and we are heading toward full restoration.
For me, this is the true Christmas message: it is not a promise that the weeds—sickness and suffering—will vanish today. It is the promise that God, through Jesus, is present in our field. He is not watching from a distance. He is here, ensuring that His wheat—those who believe—will endure until the harvest.
Praise be to the Lord!
Our Daily Bread Ministries in Indonesia is supported by the freewill offering of individuals in Indonesia, who through their gifts enable us to continue to bring the life-changing wisdom of the Bible to many here. We are not funded by any church or organisation.
