And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.
Matthew 13:23
In Matthew 13:18-23, Jesus explains to His disciples the meaning of the parable of the sower, the seed and the different types of soil. There is a profound mystery in the truths that we cannot do anything without God’s grace and work in our soul, and yet we are 100 percent responsible for our choices and responses in this life. The only way our soul can be prepared to receive God’s Word of truth, which is revelation of Him and His purposes, is by the sovereign work of the Lord within us. He is the One who tills the hard soil of our heart and breaks it open by circumstances and His Spirit dealing with us. He is the One who must dig deep in us to remove the stones and shallowness that prevent deep change in our thinking and values. He is the One who must rip out the roots of weeds, lies and deceptions we have bought into, in order to give us a fertile soil to grow in faith and devotion to Him. If we are ever to respond to Jesus Christ and grow in our faith, we all must be tilled, dug into deeply and be cleansed within. Only God can do these things as they are of a spiritual nature and deal with our heart. Yet, the Bible is clear we are responsible for how all of this goes in our life and we shall all give an account to Him with what He has provided us. Even in the matter of growth and fruitfulness in our life, we all have different responses and levels that we achieve as some bring forth “a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.” Perhaps this has to do with where we started from in our life of faith and how many obstacles Christ had to remove from our soul, yet again, we are responsible!
Dear friends, one day we shall all appear before Christ and give an answer to Him for what we did with all that was provided for us in salvation and in the way of resources He has given us. Most people think they have more time in life to get going on this or don’t really believe they will ever have to answer for their choices. These are fatal errors and those who subscribe to this thinking will without a doubt be shocked and dismayed on Judgment Day. How can I be so sure? My risen Lord, Jesus Christ, said so! Scripture is absolutely clear on this matter and you have to throw out God’s Word and become your own authority in life to reject the teaching of the One true God. Earlier in my life, when I was a young man, I doubted the Bible, but I now know it is more certain than anything else. So going back to the text listed above, I admonish us all to be sure we are doing all we can to respond in faith and love to God and let Him use us to produce the fruit of love and blessing to others in His Name. Be open, be deep, be clean and be faithful to His Word and the Spirit of God. Trust only in what Jesus Christ did on the cross of Calvary for your salvation and surrender to His love and holiness. Be “His” for this life and eternity. It is absolutely the blessed life!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek