Accepting the good seed of Jesus!

Reflecting on Mark 4:1-20

“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop.” (Mark 4:20)
As a Jesus follower, I have accepted the message of Jesus.
Jesus is the Word of God, God’s Messenger and Message to us (John 1:1)!
Jesus is the Message of life, love, grace and truth, in human flesh (John 1:14).
What Jesus says and does is like good seed, producing good results!

The bible is a God-inspired witness, pointing us to Jesus.
Before Jesus came, God’s witnesses prepared the soil of human hearts.
They exposed our weakness and inability to love as God made us to love.
They revealed our desperate need for life, love, grace and truth.
They prophesied that God would one day send a life-giving Messiah.

The gospel writers describe Jesus as God’s Way, Truth and Life.
They show how He embodies God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.
They urge their readers to accept Jesus as God’s Word, and receive life.
By accepting the message, we are enabled to produce a life-giving crop.
In relationship with Jesus, He works out His life of love in and through us.
Like Jesus, we increasingly embody the fruit of goodness: love, joy, peace, etc.

The first disciples spread out as witnesses to Jesus the Living Word.
They testified that Jesus was indeed God’s promised life-giving Messiah.
They accepted the seed, and allowed that seed to produce a crop in them.
The Book of Acts, and the Letters that follow, witness to new life in Jesus.

All of scripture hangs on Jesus, the love of God in human form.
The critical question is: how do we respond to Jesus, God’s Living Word?
Jesus describes different responses to Him and His message.
Some hearts cannot receive it, they are impenetrable for the seed (path).
Some hearts receive it in a shallow way, until life gets too hard (rocks).
Some hearts receive it, but it is choked out by life’s deceptive pleasures (weeds).
Some hearts eagerly receive it, embracing the seed and all its life (good soil).
Notice how 3/4s of the seed is received, but only 1/4 is fruitful.
Many people receive the message of Jesus, but not as many are changed by it.

“The Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:37-40)

As I see it, one reason for this is because we’ve lost sight of the seed.
The good seed is Jesus, the Living Word of God.
The rest of the bible is not the seed, but the tilling of the soil.
The OT and NT witnesses dig and turn the soil, preparing our hearts for Jesus.
Like the Pharisees, Christians spend their time studying the bible.
They treat the OT and NT as the seed, the source of life.
They turn it into laws and rules we must follow and doctrines we must believe.
They complicate the seed of Jesus with religious rules, rituals and teachings.
Our focus should be on Jesus, and how He embodies God’s goodness and love.
We should embrace the stories of Jesus, allowing His goodness to penetrate.
The problem with Christianity is that we focus too much on the bible…
And not enough on Jesus, Who the bible points to.

Don’t get me wrong, I read and value the bible as God’s inspired revelation.
But I embrace Jesus as my Saviour and Lord, not the bible.
The Spirit uses the bible to prepare the soil of my heart for Jesus.
The Spirit uses the bible to teach, rebuke, correct and train me towards the Jesus Way.
I read the bible, but I dwell on the Jesus stories.
I want the message of Jesus to dwell in me richly, to produce a good crop.
And I meet with others Jesus followers so that we can grow in this together.

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” (Collosians 3:16)

Jesus is the good seed.
When we devote ourselves to Jesus and His message, we are changed.
Do I let the message of Christ dwell in me richly?

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank you for ther witness of the bible authors, preparing me for you, pointing me to You!  I pray that out of God's glorious riches I may be strengthened with power through the Spirit in my inner being, so that You may dwell in my heart through faith. 

Dwell in me richly, that I may produce a good crop of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.