At dusk, I left the house with a fistful of wildflower seeds. I crossed the street and tossed them into the open field adjacent to our home. I waited all summer for the flowers to bloom, but all that grew was a monster thistle bush, milkweed, and some prairie grass. Since then, I’ve learned a bit about gardening. I now know that my silly experiment was doomed to fail because seeds prefer soil that is moist, free of weeds, and deep enough to accommodate their roots. They need good ground.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus said that we are good ground for the gospel when we hear and understand God’s Word. While most people get the gist of the gospel, not everyone understands it. For example, recent studies show that many professing Christians don’t believe Jesus is the only way to eternal life. Our world wants us to be cool with Christ, as well as other religious leaders, teachings, and practices. That’s not what it looks like to understand the gospel.
Those of us who comprehend the good news and “cling to it” are supposed to bear fruit, patiently producing “a huge harvest” (Luke 8:15). Spiritually speaking, our lives should be characterized by Christlike righteousness (Philippians 1:11). Over a lifetime of experiences, our spiritual yield of righteousness should multiply. Jesus said, “When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples” (John 15:8).
We can consider ourselves good ground for the gospel if we understand that God sent His only Son to take the punishment for our sin, and that Christ alone is the way to eternal life (John 14:6). Then we can bear the fruit of a changed life—one that produces “thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted” (Matthew 13:23).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Joshua 7:1-26
More:
Read Colossians 1:3-7 to learn what happens when people receive the good news. Read Matthew 13:19-23 to find out how people can become sidetracked from living fruitful Christian lives.
Next:
How have you changed since receiving Jesus as your Savior? Why are we sometimes satisfied with bearing just a little fruit? What should be our goal?
eppistle on March 3, 2011 at 7:04 am
It’s not faith plus works that saves us, or faith minus works that saves us. It’s faith that results in good works. A true Christian will be characterized by good doctrine, obedience and love (I John 4:1-8).
jennifer benson schuldt on March 3, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Hello eppistle,
Thanks for your comment. Romans 10:9 reminds us, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Somewhere in there, faith is involved, and yes, I think this kind of faith does often result in good works. I agree that a true Christian will be characterized by good doctrine, obedience and love. I love this passage as well, that shows us what it looks like to be walking with God’s Spirit: “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22). This is a great “fruit,” which comes from “good ground”. : )
sowharvest on March 3, 2011 at 1:20 pm
In all my years of reading this passage TODAY was the first time I saw the word “patience” in v. 15 which says “having heard the word, keep it, & bring forth fruit with patience”. I believe that Jesus is telling us we have a time– a process that must be done before we get to the fruit. Thanks for the reminder.
jennifer benson schuldt on March 3, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Hi sowharvest!
Thanks for drawing our attention to the word “patience”. I read this passage in another version of the Bible, which used the word “perseverance”. In any case, it’s worth noting that producing fruit is not an automatic thing–there may be obstacles, but we need to be patient with the process.
daisymarygoldr on March 3, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Lovely flowers! Not the monster thistle (Heb 6:7-8), but the ones in the pic 🙂
“cling to it” means to:
– keep it
– retain it
– abide in it
– continue in it
– be diligent
– be faithful
– be rooted in it
– be grounded in it
– obey it
– do it
– work it out
– persevere
– endure to the end
– take hold of/ hold fast/ hold on
In other words, good ground that is receptive to the seed of God’s Word is also characterized by all of the above—for the spiritual yield of righteousness to multiply.
“It is in vain to spring up quickly like the seed that was sown upon the rock, and then by-and-by to wither when the sun is up; that would but prove that such a plant has no root in itself, but “the trees of the Lord are full of sap” and they abide and continue, and bring forth fruit, even in old age, to show that the Lord is upright. There is a great difference between nominal Christianity and real Christianity, and this is generally seen in the failure of the one and the continuance of the other. Now, the declaration of the text is that only the truly righteous man shall hold on his way. According to some, eternal life is given to you, but then it may not be eternal; you may fall from it, it may last only for a time . . .” Charles H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle June 24, 1877
jennifer benson schuldt on March 3, 2011 at 6:43 pm
daisymarygoldr,
Thanks for your thoughts on “clinging”! I really like the list format. As I read it, I thought about what might prevent us from clinging? Here’s an interesting take on it from a popular commentary:
“We ought to take heed of the things that will hinder our profiting by the word we hear; to take heed lest we hear carelessly and slightly, lest we entertain prejudices against the word we hear; and to take heed to our spirits after we have heard the word, lest we lose what we have gained. The gifts we have, will be continued to us or not, as we use them for the glory of God, and the good of our brethren.”
–Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible
winn collier on March 3, 2011 at 9:34 pm
I’ve been reading a lot of Bonhoeffer lately, reminds me of his refusal to accept “cheap grace” that speaks of removing sin without changing the sinner. It all begins and ends with God (with our work only as obedient response), but the question is – what does God intend to do?