Patience is not one of my strongest qualities. Especially patience with myself. I want results, and I want them QUICKLY.
I want to grow up as a Christ-follower, as a husband, as a father and as a friend. I want to make wise decisions. I want to be productive in the Kingdom of God…and I want it NOW. I want Him to change me QUICKLY. I am convinced that the Word of God can change me from the inside out…but I’d like an instant transformation.
That’s not Jesus’ description of how the Word of God changes us.
This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest. – Luke 8:11-15
In the story Jesus told about a farmer planting seeds, He says that there are four possible results of someone hearing the Word of God:
- Satan can get in the way of them responding to It.
- They can believe the message but allow temptation to lure them away.
- They can believe the message but fail to respond in a way that prepares them for life.
- They can cling to the message and patiently produce a huge harvest.
Jesus says that if we cling to the Word of God, we can patiently produce a huge harvest. It won’t happen right away, but it will happen. Grace Point is full of people for whom this is true. If you look back a week you would see little change. But if you look back a year, or five or ten years…they have produced a huge harvest.
I pray God would help us to patiently produce a huge harvest. I don’t want to be content, lazy or unfocused…but I do want to be patient.
