How to be a Fruitful Christian (Part 1)

The third kind of soil explained in the parable of the sower (Matt 13:1-23) is a patch of ground full of thorns. (see the previous two week's posts for the rest of the series)  The seed falls on soil and begins to put down roots and grow, but after a time a patch of thorns rapidly grows up and chokes out the small plants.  Jesus explains that spiritually this represents people who hear the word but are choked by cares of the world and do not become fruitful plants.  I would hazard a guess that this spiritual condition describes a large portion of the North American church.  We hear the word of God, begin to grow but are then choked out by all the busyness and cares of life.  We still believe in Jesus, go to church and even read our Bibles occasionally but fail to produce fruit because we are so distracted. 

Think about the cares and worries of life.  Who wouldn’t be distracted?  There are bills to pay, savings to set aside, future plans to consider, government forms to fill out, insurances to be bought, vehicles to buy, houses to renovate, children to take care of, activities to be completed, sports to play, new hobbies to find, collections to complete, bathrooms to be cleaned and the list goes on and on.

What about money?  We’re constantly thinking about money.  How can we get more money?  How can I pay my bills?  How much do I need to save to retire?  How can I pay for college?  How much insurance do I need to buy in case something goes wrong?  I saw an ad the other day for credit card insurance that will pay off your credit card balance in case you die or are disabled.  So, you could pay more money to feel safer about that credit card balance you shouldn’t have anyhow.  If that is not distraction, I’m not sure what is.

In short we are highly distracted.  On the other hand Jesus says that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  Following Jesus is hard, yet simple.  Just picking a loaf of bread can be complicated.  There are 47 choices.  Following Jesus is just one simple choice and if we can tone down the distractions and tune into Jesus our lives will be a lot more meaningful and much less scattered.  We have to distill things down to a purpose.  Busyness without purpose leads to fruitless lives.  With Jesus we can live lives full of purpose and fruit.  The choice is up to each person.  Jesus, or everything else.  It can’t be both.