Tuesday, Oct. 8

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As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.  - Luke 8:15

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”   - Matthew 13:23

At the close of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus describes what he calls “good soil”.  Jesus gives us only one distinguishing characteristic of “good soil”.  There is only one thing that separates good soil from the other three kinds; hard, rocky, and thorny.  Do you see what it is?  It is Fruit!  

Notice that good soil is not the only soil that receives the seed, both the shallow and thorny soil receive the seed.  Neither is the good soil the only soil in which things grow, there is growth in both the thorny and shallow soil too, although it is short-lived.  But, it is only the good soil that yields any fruit when harvest time comes.  It is interesting, and a little discouraging, to discover that only about one quarter of the seed that is sown with end up producing any fruit!  

When you think about it, even though Jesus describes four separate conditions of soil, in the end, there are really only 2 types; fruitful and unfruitful.  This idea of fruitfulness is a very important theme throughout the Bible.  Fruitfulness is the primary image used to describe the lives of those who obey and trust the living God.  The Apostle Paul describes just exactly what this fruit is in the lives of “good soil” believers.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.   - Galatians 5:22-23

In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, the prophet contrasts the fruitful life of the one who trusts in God with the life of the who trusts in himself.

Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
    and makes flesh his strength,
    whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He is like a shrub in the desert,
    and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:5-8

Jesus Himself says that fruitfulness is the mark of the true believer, By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (John 15:8)

How do you recognize a genuine Christ-follower, someone who is good soil?  You look for the evidence of spiritual fruit in their lives.  This does NOT mean that fruitfulness is what saves you or what makes you a Christian, not at all!  Christ is the one who saves through His death and resurrection and becoming a Christian means simply trusting in Him.  However, the Bible is very clear that genuine spiritual fruit is the evidence that a person has placed his/her trust in Jesus.  So fruit doesn’t make you a Christian, but it does prove that you are one!

Jeff Frazier