“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:15 (NIV) This is Jesus’ promise at the end of the parable of the sower. The seeds that fell on good soil produced a huge harvest “a hundred times more than was sown.” We all want to live fruitful lives for God and produce as much as God allows us to produce. So, what do you do so that you can be fruitful, how do we bear a bumper crop for God?
This verse mentions five responsibilities. First, have a noble heart. Desire what is excellent and honorable. Second, have a good heart. That is, our hearts embrace and abide in goodness and discard anything harmful. Third, we hear the word; we take time out of our schedule to read or listen to Scripture. Fourth, we retain God’s words; we believe God’s words and keep them continually on our hearts. We ruminate on Scripture so that it becomes a part of us. Fifth, we need to persevere. We will encounter barriers and trials because that is the nature of this present age. So we persevere in following God’s words knowing that he will keep his promises and that we will live in the bliss of his presence one day. This is how you can be fruitful.
In this way we will be one of those people in the kingdom of God who produced a hundredfold more than what God planted in us. You can be fruitful instead of spending your life mostly unfruitful for God. He will reward your fruit in the next age and you will rejoice in this forever!
Do you believe that you can be fruitful? Which of the five responsibilities in this passage can you improve on? How does the joy in your fruitfulness in the next life compare with the extra effort to be more fruitful now?
