A Good Harvest

And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the Word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.  Mark 4:20 (KJV)

As we come to the pinnacle of Jesus´ parable on the sower, we receive the sweet thought of those who do hear Jesus´s words.  These blessed souls find deep and rich soil within their hearts.  The words of the Lord are well nourished there and can flourish.  They spread deep roots and grow up strong in faith.  The words work miraculous growth and the end result is a healthy plant full of fine harvest.

But what is this fruit?  What are we talking about here?  Is our Savior trying to sell us the idea that all His efforts were made so that we would in turn bring Him something else in return?  Perhaps the significance of this text is taught with as many variations as there are denominations. What is our take on it?  How does the Spirit guide your heart when you consider Him under the light of this text?

Let us lift up such a rich text unto the One to Whom it would bring glory.  Rather than splitting hairs, let us use the words of our Savior to draw us closer to Him.  It is not His intention to divide anyone over points of conflicting interpretation, but to purify and raise our eyes above our natural ways and gaze upon One Who is infinitely higher.

Therefore we could rather focus on what has happened to the soul which has received the seeds planted by our Lord.  Instead of haggling over which fruit is better, we will buy the precious produce of lost ground with the Lord regained.  Instead of looking out over the fine crop of waving heads of grain, we will rejoice in the process which brought the harvest into effect.  Surely the angels of heaven are already celebrating the sight of seeds sown which truly have found rich soil.  Heaven sees, and sings of the wonder of when roots grow down deep into our Lord.  Nutrients are found and entities are grown together.  The end result does bear wonderful fruit, but the harvest to be celebrated is the intentions of God towards uniting Himself with you and I.  That is what He is hoping to reap.

One would not want to lower, nor limit the out-workings of this harvest.  We don´t want to scoff at what other grains may be brought in from this planting.  But we should try not jump forward as our nature would tend, and to hurry on to the harvest before the plant has had time to grow into That what the Sower intended.

Dear Lord, when we read of Your seeds finding good soil, our hearts strain within us.  There are those to be found here on Your earth, who hear those words and need to know that those seeds find good soil within their souls.  Please nurture the seedlings which are growing within our hearts.  Help the roots to grow so deep within us that something strong and fruitful may grow out of what You planted here.  Do not let us rest nor find our nourishment from anything other than You so that we may be firmly planted and fed by You alone.  Let whatever we eventually grow into be that what You intended for us so that You are happy with Your harvest.

Amen