PrintSEASON FOUR "Fruitfulness"
"The good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God's message and produce a huge harvest — thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted." (Matt. 13/23)
"But the good soil represents those who hear and accept God's message and produce a huge harvest — thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted." (Mark 4/20)
"But the good soil represents honest, good-hearted people who hear God's message, cling to it, and steadily produce a huge harvest". (Luke 8/15)
Living in a never-ending season of fruitfulness is a great goal or ideal but, all things considered, it is probably unrealistic. However, that is not to suggest that the pursuit of that goal is in any way to be abandoned. The Bible often describes the goal of our relationship with God is for us to be fruitful. John 15/1-8 is one of the more noteworthy examples.
Another example is found in 2 Peter 1/5-9
"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. (2 Peter 1:5-9 NIV)
It is worth repeating that ".... if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ".
Surely any Christian worthy of the name does not want to be ineffective and unproductive. But what is promised here in this 4th season is not a quick shortcut to maturity but a promise that no effort will go unrewarded. Please Note: This is in no way meant to imply that we have to work for our acceptance with God. The call to grow in Christ is not issued in order for us to be accepted by God but because we have been accepted by Him quite apart from anything we could do.
I note that the crop that Jesus describes is of miracle proportions —"… thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted." So why should I settle for anything less?
CONCLUSION: The challenge for me now is to identify in which season I am now living and, with the help and support of my Christian friends, to seek to live increasingly in the season of fruitfulness.
