We recently moved to the country to be near our grandchildren. Across the street from our house is a field filled with what appears to be a very healthy crop of corn. It should go without saying that the reason why the farmer planted the seed was in anticipation of a good harvest.
Why did God plant the seed of His word in our lives? Like the farmer in our neighborhood, He expects us to produce a crop. Where the farmer’s crop is corn, what is the crop God expects from us?
God has invested the life of His Son, His revealed word, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus revealed the crop God expects us to produce in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
In John, Jesus said the crop God expects is love in action: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
Paul listed nine products that the Holy Spirit produces in us: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Crop failure is the term used for the investment of time and energy in a crop that doesn’t come to fruition. Jesus told a parable to a crowd by the sea about three reasons for crop failure, as well as for successful crop production.
Failure #1
Let’s be clear: God has only one purpose in planting His word in us. He expects us to produce the fruit of a life worthy of the crucifixion and resurrection of His Son.
There are times when His word falls on us like seed on a path that becomes bird food (Matthew 13:4).
Jesus explained this to His disciples with these words: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path” (Matthew 13:19).
One Sunday, I was preaching, and two little boys were under a pew playing with army men. It occurred to me that many people can’t hear God’s word because they have a war going on in their hearts.
I remember another Sunday when a man came in and sat on the back pew. To me, he was the most important person in the building, but my sermon was not appropriate for him. After a few minutes, he got up and walked out of church. He didn’t understand the word, and the evil one snatched it from him.
All of us have times when we are like the hard pathway. Thankfully, God is the God of second chances, and we don’t have to remain hard and impervious to God’s word.
Failure #2
If you’ve ever tried to grow grass while gravel is under the soil, you will recognize the second kind of crop failure.
Jesus explained this to His followers: “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away” (Matthew 13:20-21).
Some of my friends in recovery talk about the early days of sobriety as a “pink cloud.” It seems as if everything is going well for them during this time, as they leave addiction behind. Unfortunately, the “pink cloud” doesn’t last, the “bell goes off,” and they return to their addiction.
The same experience happens with many followers of Jesus. They have a great beginning, like a “pink cloud” of grace hovering over them. Then troubles come, and they return to their old ways. It is almost as if they say, “I tried God, and He didn’t work.”
As the Lord looks for attitudes and actions that resemble the Sermon on the Mount, love like Jesus, and the fruit of the Spirit, these people seem to be crop failures.
Crop failure is unacceptable, and we can’t remain in that state. Praise God for grace. I know many people who have gotten sober and relapsed numerous times before they finally found victory. The same is true for people who turn away from God. Their relapse from God’s grace doesn’t keep the Holy Spirit from drawing them back to their Lord.
Failure #3
When the Chinese government relaxed some of their restrictions on Christians, Henry Blackaby met with some Chinese church leaders. They told him, “It seems that the church in China has fared better under persecution than the American church has under prosperity.”
It is to this third form of crop failure that Jesus spoke: “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing” (Matthew 13:22).
John Oswalt’s assessment of Israel’s spiritual condition in the Book of Isaiah was that they “wanted both God and the gods.”
One of my friends described his congregation with a similar assessment to Oswalt’s: “They want a little Christianity like they put on aftershave or perfume – just a touch here and there.”
This attitude misses the purpose of God’s call in our lives. God expects us to produce fruit, not just enjoy the American dream and later have a mansion in heaven.
A Successful Crop
I am abundantly thankful that each of the three illustrations of crop failure is not terminal. Repentance can change failure to success. Jesus outlines the process of success as He concludes the interpretation of this parable.
“But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:23).
There have been times when someone said to me, “Do you hear me?” They weren’t asking if I heard their words. They wanted me to act on them. Every time we read “hear” in the Bible, we need to know that hearing and obeying is what is meant.
The way we produce the crop God desires is to know and do His will. We can count on the help of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this, because it is for this purpose God has called us.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 