Two blogs in two day? Yeah, I'm a little inspired I suppose. I'm currently on a conference call for work, and it's one I really don't have to be too mentally engaged with, so I figured instead of playing online chess which has been my custom, I'd jump on here and think on things that are more noble, true, right pure, lovely and admirable.
Recently I had a quiet time in Mark 4 which is Jesus' parable of the sower - he says something interesting in verse 13:
And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?"
There are two major things Jesus could be communicating here: 1. Jesus think this parable is so simple that if you miss it, you'll miss the rest. (I'm not inclined to think this is correct, given on just how much is packed into this one parable.) 2. Understanding this parable is the key to understanding all the parables of Jesus. Personally, I'm more inclined to believe the latter of these two options, but either way, Jesus makes the importance of understanding this parable very clear.
One thing I think this parable exposes are three reasons why we don't bear fruit in the Christian life. The importance of bearing fruit cannot be understated by Jesus, especially in light of how Jesus speaks about trees that don't bear fruit - John 15 being the one that immediately jumps to mind. Let's look at the three things this parable exposes, and see if we fit them?
1. We don't bear fruit, because we were never planted
We begin by the seed that landed on the road, and the birds came and ate the seed, so it was never actually planted. This is someone who is not a Christian. To bear fruit is to reproduce. The biological reason why plants have fruit is so that they can reproduce after their own kind. If you and I haven't settled the issue in our hearts that Christ is Lord, and have submitted our lives to Him, than we cannot reproduce what we are not, for a tree only can reproduce what it is.
2. We don't bear fruit because we are immature in Christ
This seed is planted, and it even springs up some growth, but then the sun comes and scorches it and it does because it didn't have deep enough roots.
It's my personal opinion this is where a lot of the church is today. People who never truly mature in Christ.
Just like a physical child, children cannot reproduce. God wisely does not permit those who are still young in Christ to reproduce because the immature are still learning to be men and women of God. To reproduce is to show someone else how to be men and women of God. Just like a non-Christian, you cannot reproduce what you are not. You wouldn't want a child or non-human raising a newborn baby . . . which is why God doesn't allow non Christians or non Christians to bear fruit.
So the question is how do you develop deep roots? The more I study this, the more I'm convinced that maturity in Christ is directly correlated to our obedience to Christ. I agree with with Howard Hendricks on this. Understanding of the Word + Response + Time = Growth. The only way we are going to grow into maturity in Christ is if we cultivate our faith in him through
obedience. I go into great detail on my thoughts on obedience in
my blog yesterday.
3. We don't bear fruit because we don't care enough
This is a seed that falls into the earth and grows, but thorns also maintain the soil, and they choke the word and the plant proves unfruitful. Jesus calls the thorns the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.
Here's where I get the most heartbroken. People who have actually seen growth; who have started to learn to obey Christ decide that He isn't worth it. Even without realizing it, people decide that Christ isn't enough to weed out the things in our lives that keep us from bearing fruit by their actions. By refusing to pull up that weed, we refuse Christ. Paul speaks to the complete opposite in Philippians 3:8 -
Indeed, I count everything as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish so that I may gain Christ.
Paul calls the things in his life that choke the word - the things that he sees make him unfruitful, rubbish. This is also translated as feces. Do we see those things as such? Often times, we absolutely LOVE the weeds in our life - at least before we pull them up. They come in the form of romantic interests, dream jobs, addictions, pornography, and so many other things - both obviously sins, and not-so-obvious sins.
Final Thoughts
Here's the thing - all of us need to mature in Christ, and all of us will have weeds in our life. There will always be aspects of our life that make us less fruitful than we ought to be, but this is why God's grace is so important. It's only by the grace of God that he desires us to bear fruit even though he knows we will never be truly without weeds - fully without sin. It's those who refuse to even address the sin in their life who are in deep trouble. That's the moment we choose our flesh over our God, and refuse even his grace in the process.
Take a look at your life and ask: Have I been planted? Am I growing? Am I weeding? All these things will lead to bearing fruit.
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