Some of us may wonder why Christian growth seems to take such a long time, and we wonder if it is happening at all. Jesus addressed this issue in Mark 4. It’s a matter of how well we are hearing and receiving the message the Bible passage is trying to teach us. Frankly, the principles behind Bible learning are the same as learning other things as well.
How well do we listen? Regarding the message of the word, and hearing it, Jesus said, “But these [seeds] are sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred” (Mark 4:20).
This behavior is being contrasted with those who don’t apply the word, to those who dislike the word when things get rough, and to those who are too caught up with other things to give the word the attention it deserves (vv. 15-19).
Look at it another way. Let’s say you want to play football with the big leagues. But you question why you have to do all those workouts. Or you find you have to take orders from others and act as a team, and that rubs you the wrong way. Or you can’t concentrate on the game because you got a new job, girlfriend, or other stuff that distracts. It’s understandable if coach cuts you from the roster, right?
Who then is the one who makes the team and goes on to play? The one who “hears” instruction, paying attention with the right attitude, “accepts it” as his responsibility to do his part, and then “bears fruit”: he becomes the person who learns and integrates and practices all that learning, and gets put into play.
Jesus further encourages us to pay attention to what we hear: “With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given” (v. 24). Growth happens when we act on what we received earlier. The “measure” of care we put into it is the “measure” of growth we’ll get out of it.
If we read the word and do not ponder it enough to digest and use it, then how is growth possible? If a promise is given and we don’t trust the Lord for it; or we read a warning and continue living as though it meant nothing, then we are not being good hearers. What kind of growth can we expect?
Finally, Jesus builds on this instruction with the following thought. “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head” (v. 28). Obviously, Jesus is talking to farmers here because He’s using terms like seed and crops in this parable of the kingdom of God. To use the athletics analogy, the football players first do the seatwork of learning the rules of the game and the plays to memorize. On top of building their minds, they need to get their bodies in shape for the rigors of the game and be able to execute the plays they learned and memorized. Everything happens in stages, one before the other.
When you read your Bible and keep getting something out of it; when you see how it applies to you and put the lesson into practice on an ongoing basis; when you see Christ and make the hard decisions to quit your behavior to imitate Christ– you are learning and producing fruit.
If you don’t like taking orders, and if you’re a lone wolf who doesn’t like being around people–then your growth could be super slow. Jesus is forming a people into His image, and He took orders from God and came to bring people into a relationship with Him in faith and love. This is the goal of the disciple as well. A disciple is a learner. Will you be a disciple of Jesus Christ?
“But when the grain ripens, immediately he [the farmer] puts in the sickle [to cut down the grain], because the harvest has come” (v. 29). The farmer, like the Holy Spirit, has a goal, and that’s to put the fruit to use. Jesus uses the idea of harvest as preparing souls to be with Him forever in His coming kingdom. We want to cultivate this perspective. We grow in faith, hope, and love for a reason, that we might appear before Him with joy (Jude 1:24), ready to give a good account of our lives (Matthew 25:14-23).
The decisions you make today: will they bring joy when you give an account of your life tonight in prayer? There’s no reason you can’t let 2024 be the best season of growth yet.
