Separating wheat from chaff

609 separate the wheat from the chaffChaff is the shell on the outside of the grain, which must be separated so that the grain can be used. It is usually considered a waste product. The grain is threshed to remove the husks. In the days before mechanization, the grains with the chaff were separated from one another by repeatedly throwing them up in the air until the wind blew away the chaff.

The chaff is also used as a metaphor for things that are worthless and need to be disposed of. The Old Testament warns by comparing the wicked with chaff that is blown away. "But the wicked are not like that, but like the chaff that the wind scatters" (Psalm 1,4).

«I baptize you with water in repentance; but he who comes after me (Jesus) is stronger than me, and I am not worthy to wear his shoes; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He has the scoop in his hand and will separate the wheat from the chaff and collect his wheat in the barn; but he will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire »(Matthew 3,11-12).

John the Baptist confirms that Jesus is the judge who has the power to separate the wheat from the chaff. There will be a time of judgment when people stand before God's throne. He will put the good in his barn, the bad will be burned like chaff.

Does this statement scare you or is it a relief? At the time that Jesus lived on earth, all those who rejected Jesus were to be regarded as chaff. At the time of judgment, there will be people who choose not to accept Jesus as their Savior.

If we look at it from the point of view of a Christian, you will certainly enjoy this statement. We received grace in Jesus. In him we are the adopted children of God and are not afraid to be rejected. We are no longer godless because we appear in Christ before our Father and are cleansed of our sins. At the moment the spirit is causing us to remove our chaff, the husk of our old ways of thinking and acting. We are being redesigned now. However, in this life we ​​will never have complete freedom from our "old man". When we stand before our Savior, it is the time when we are free from everything within ourselves that contradicts God. God will finish the work He started in each of us. We stand perfectly before his throne. You already belong to the wheat that is in its barn!

from Hilary Buck