“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
— John 12:24
If we have the understanding that we must always be ready to bear fruit, then we will realize that even to preach the gospel is different from what we typically think. To preach the gospel is simply to be ready to grow and bear fruit. However, we are either too focused on doing a work, or too focused on being buried. This means that either we kill others, or we kill ourselves. The secret is to be buried, and yet to also be full of life. Then we should have the readiness to grow and bear fruit.
If someone is always ready to bear fruit, they have a certain kind of sensitivity. Wherever they are, they are ready to beget. When they are in a store, or in a restaurant, or on a plane, they are able to sense that a certain person is ready to hear the gospel. Most of the time, however, we don’t have this sensitivity. The Lord arranges the environment, but then we complain. When the Lord gives us riches, we become full and don’t seek the opportunity to grow. We should be able to say, “Lord, I’m ready to grow, and I’m ready to bear fruit.”
Adapted from the online series, Serving the Lord as a Seed, Message one, pages 6-7.
Tomorrow: “Being Ready to Grow and Bear Fruit” (5)