What do you aim for?

Yesterday we spoke about the decision to be good earth, hearing and understanding God's Word.

“But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)

However, even though all the people who represent good soil bring forth a crop, or fruit, there is a very important difference in the level of yield they produce: some produce a hundred times, some sixty times, and some only thirty times what was sown. In other words, for each seed sown, some produce a hundred seeds, some produce sixty seeds, and some produce thirty seeds.

It is interesting to observe that the hundred-fold yield is more than the sum of the sixtyfold and thirtyfold yields put together. The people who really make it through to full productiveness are much more productive than the people who are only partly productive. This principle can be found throughout the Word of God.

I want to focus on the hundredfold yield, which is representative of the people who want and achieve God’s best. In another version of the same parable, found in Luke, Jesus makes this statement about the good soil:

“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:15)

In that description there are two vitally important factors, both of which are related to our theme of wanting God’s best. First, there is the kind of heart, which is described as noble and good. An alternative translation for “noble” is “honest.” So, the first requirement is honesty, which includes openness and sincerity. Honesty means not covering anything up or having double standards. That is the first requirement.

Second, there is a threefold response from these honest people: they hear the word; they retain it; and, by persevering, they produce a crop, or fruit. Those three actions are extremely important; in fact, I want to emphasize that they are vital in acquiring God’s best. Persevering, especially, is a key to acquiring God’s best.

The principle unfolded in this parable confronts each of us with a personal decision. I cannot overemphasize the importance of our decisions in the walk of faith. So many people do not realize that the course of our lives depends ultimately upon the decisions we make and not on our feelings.

The decision that confronts each one of us is: how much do I intend to produce? Will I be satisfied with thirty times? Do I intend to produce sixty times? Or, am I aiming for God’s best and intending to produce one hundred times? You are confronted with the necessity of making this decision. The very fact that you are reading these devotions automatically confronts you with a decision: Do I want God’s best? Am I going to aim at a hundred-fold, or be content with sixty- or thirtyfold?

What you achieve will depend on the response of your heart. I pointed out earlier that there are two sides to our relationship with God. One side is what God makes available to us; the other side is how we respond to what God makes available. The decisive factor in your life is how you respond.

In Luke 8:15, we saw that there are three aspects to a successful response: first, hearing God’s Word; second, retaining it; and third, persevering in what you are doing.

Yes, the correct response from an honest heart will produce much fruit. And be assured that this is God’s desire—to see you produce much fruit.