Being Productive

Have you heard agnostics, those who doubt God, explain the Bible? It would be comical if not for just how far from the Truth of the Word their interpretations go. When you presuppose nonsense, you likely will interpret it that way. Our parallels today are the Parable of the Sown Seed, Usefulness of a Candle, How Seed Grows, Appearance of True and Small Beginnings all which are tied to how the Word of God is perceived. Only to those who want to act upon God’s Word does God make it clear:

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.¹ 

Mark 4:1-20 is the Parable of the Sower which Jesus explains as the Word of God and various ways it is received: with Satan’s opposition, or without growth and duration, or choked out by distractions, or that which is nurtured, grows, multiplies and produces abundantly.²

Mark 4:21-25 is the Parable of the Lamp, that which is meant to give forth Light and how those who hear freely are to give forth what they have received.³

Mark 4:26-29 is the Parable of Growth where the Word is sown, germinates, grows into a plant bearing fruit and produces a harvest.⁴

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 is the Parable of Appearances, contrast between how similar wheat and tares (darnel) look but how tares are not the true produce of the sown Word and will be discarded at God’s judgment.⁵

Then Mark 4:30-32 is the Parable of the Mustard Seed, how perceived insignificance has the inherent ability to grow into the largest in the garden far exceeding the appearance of the beginning. Such is the Word of God and the change it is able to produce when nurtured in the willing soul.⁶

What is the outcome of the Word sown on good soil, nurtured, growing, showing forth, producing, passing on beyond itself?

Speaking of the Word: Luke 8:15 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. ⁷

Speaking of Light: Lk 8.18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” ⁸

Speaking of Appearances: Mt 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. ⁹

Speaking of Small Beginnings: Mt 13.32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree ¹⁰

The Word of God is the Seed which God intends to be productive in our lives, to nurture that repentance, commitment and growth that was promised in Jesus.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. ¹¹

The Kingdom of God is not about outward appearances but in the content of God within and what He produces in our willing lives.