FRUITFUL OR UNFRUITFUL?
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good ground, hear the word, accept it and produce a crop – some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown. (Mark 4: 18-20).
One kind of soil – no growth. Another kind of soil, little growth, no plant. Another kind of soil, no fruit. Only one kind of soil produces a crop and even then the measure of the harvest varies. Why?
All four kinds of people hear the word. The word falls on their ears. Some hear it and fail to respond – the pathway kind of people. Their hearts are hardened by their own thoughts and behaviour patterns and they have no intention of accepting change. The word has no impact on them at all. They carry on living as though they had never heard it.
Some hear it and respond joyfully but it doesn’t last. When the first hint of trouble or opposition comes, they back off and their faith and commitment dies. They are in it only for what they can get out of it. If God does not come to the party, if things don’t go the way they expected, they’re out of there, back to their old way of thinking and living. They tried it but it didn’t work because their expectations were not met.
The third kind of soil receives the seed eagerly but it is already occupied by other things. Jesus identified two already-growing plants which will not give way for the seed of the word; the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of riches. These thought patterns are already entrenched and will not make way for the truth. Both ways of thinking cause a person’s mind to be split.
Worry takes two forms; “what if” and “if only”.
“What if” projects the mind into an unknown and uncertain future. Worry produces fear which obliterates faith. Faith is calling those things that are not as though they were. Fear is calling those things that have not happened as though they had. Worry so overtakes the mind that it is impossible to think rationally until the worrier makes a deliberate choice not to worry and replaces negative thoughts with the truth. Worry has no end because it has no answer.
‘If only” is just as pernicious because it overtakes the mind with regret. Just like worry, regret has no end. It churns over circumstances that belong to the past, cannot be relived and cannot be changed. Satan uses these two powerful ways of choking out the seed of God’s word so that it cannot take root in the heart.
Another powerful “weed” that takes over the mind is the desire for riches. If worry splits the mind so that I am “here” in my body but my mind is “there” where my anxiety or regret is, greed also splits the mind so that I am “now” in the present with my money and possessions but also “then” when I make more money in the future.
Both of these mind-sets leave no room for the word of God to take root in the mind, change the heart and produce the fruit of the truth in the life.
There is only one answer to these pre-occupied minds. It begins with the “want to”. If there is no desire for God, there will be no appetite for His word. Desire begins with a sense of need. We get hungry when we have not eaten for a while. How do we develop an appetite for God’s word? By reading it! Our taste and appetite for certain kinds of food is developed by what we eat. Children who live on junk food will have no appetite for meat and vegetables. If we want to live fruitful lives, we must change our diet.
Those who receive and act on God’s word begin to change. Their roots will go down into the soil of truth and soon the fruit will begin to grow. At first it will be green and immature but, given the continuing nourishment of the word, the fruit will eventually mature and be food for others.
What kind of fruit does the one bear who receives the seed into good soil? It is the fruit of character and behaviour that reflects the nature of the seed.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5: 22-23).
How can we tell what a person thinks? Listen to the words that come out of the mouth and watch the fruit of the life. How do people respond to adversity? What comes out of their mouths when they are offended or concerned? What is inside will always come out. Squeeze a lemon and lemon juice will come out! Squeeze a person and what is inside will come out.
These are the kinds of people Jesus had to deal with. These are the kinds of people we encounter in our lives. What kind of soil are you?
Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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