Israel was a society that relied on agriculture to survive. The farmers worked hard to take the land that God gave them to turn it into fertile soil that produced bumper crops. Because of that, Jesus often taught with stories or analogies that were based on growing fruit. If a farmer let the weeds and thorns grow on his land, he wouldn’t be harvesting any crop. The same can be said for our hearts. If they are soil ready for planting, it will produce a harvest of abundant fruit.
Luke 6:44
“For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.”
What is Your Life Marked By?
The metaphor of fruit is used throughout the Scriptures to indicate growth. Lack of fruit in one’s life is a sign of a barren spiritual life. If your life exhibits thorns or weeds, it means that you have a life that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit. A thriving Christian life is marked by fertile soil and abundant fruit and is the result of a life surrendered to Christ. God wants your life to produce fruit.
Time for Some Weeding
Fruit won’t be found among the weeds and thorns. There is too much competition for food and light to produce anything that is of substance. For that reason, harvesters do not even look amongst them. If your life is full of weeds and thorns, it means that your heart has allowed some unflattering attributes to grow, while at the same time ignoring the conviction of the Holy Spirit to get rid of them.
A Harvest of Abundant Fruit
If the seed of God’s Word falls on fertile soil in our hearts, it will produce thirty to one hundred times in the harvest. The soil and the seed don’t do it; God does. We just need to make sure our heart is ground that can produce abundant fruit. If it is in disarray, then it will be an overgrown barren wasteland. Do the work necessary for your heart to be in the right state.