TO CHEW ON: "But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience." Luke 8:15
"When people ask me what kind of time commitment it takes to write a novel, I give them two numbers: 2000 and 10" says Randy Ingermanson in his popular email newsletter called "Advanced Fiction-Writing Ezine". "2000 hours is the 'typical' number of hours that a novelist spends developing her craft so that she's good enough to get published. 10 hours per week is the minimum number of hours per week that a novelist should be spending in order to write a book in a year."
I don't know about you, but Randy's advice speaks to me about patience, perseverance, endurance -- the very things that are also necessary for producing a harvest of good fruit in the Christian life.
That's the subject of the Jesus' parable part of our reading today. In it, the sower seeds the Word of God (Old Testament stories, psalms, proverbs, prophets, the teachings of Jesus, the teachings of the Apostles). It falls on all kinds of ground (receptive and non-receptive ears/lives). But it only bears fruit (yields visible results in changed allegiances, priorities and lifestyles) in good soil, and needs the added ingredient of patience to do this.
Patience comes from the word hupomone. It means constancy, perseverance, continuance, bearing up, steadfastness, holding out, patient endurance. "It describes the capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances, not with passive complacency but with a hopeful fortitude that actively resists weariness and defeat." p. 1741 New Spirit Filled Life Bible
.The Bible speaks of patience in many places. Job was famous for it (James 5:11). The way Jesus endured beatings and the cross was our example in it (1 Peter 2:18-23). Several of the early churches were commended for it (Revelation 2:2; 2:19). It is closely related to hope (Romans 8:25), can earn us the title of "ministers of" or "true servants" of God (2 Corinthians 6:4), "blessed" (James 5:11) and can make us worth following (2 Timothy 3:10).
I ask myself, do I have patience? Do you? It's worth developing, not only for the short-term projects it will help us complete (children raised, houses built, quilts made, novels written) but also for its result in producing lasting life-fruit of all kinds.
PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to develop patience, endurance and perseverance. I want my life to produce a harvest that lasts.
MORE: "Worth it All" by Rita Springer
Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.
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