Bear Fruit and Be Blessed
- jacarroll71
- Feb 21, 2017
- 2 min read
God wills that His people be blessed and flourishing. But God’s blessings depend on something else, something for which we are responsible.
Today’s reading
Selected Verses
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:22-27
But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” Mark 4:20
Reflections
God wills that His people be blessed and flourishing. He gave a stirring benediction for Aaron to pass on to Israel. But God’s blessings depend on the obedience of His people. Sin and disobedience thwart God’s best gifts. As Jesus taught in the parable of the soils, people must hear His word, hold it fast, and be careful to let it bear fruit in their lives.
This does not always occur. We could even say it frequently does not occur. If we are honest, there are too many lapses in our hearing, holding fast, and bearing fruit. The word gets snatched away because it never even penetrates our minds. We have an immediate enthusiastic, but superficial, response which results in short term impact but long term death. This is the result of shallow penetration of the truth into our hearts and minds. Then come the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things that kill the potential fruit when the seed does take root and grow. When we overcome these obstacles the seed will bear fruit and the blessing will be poured out.
Think about it
True blessing comes from God and it comes to those who hear the Word, hold it fast, and remain vigilant to let it bear fruit. Beware of the obstacles to fruitfulness. As Jesus told His disciples, “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples,” John 15:8. Real disciples bear fruit. They are blessed. And that glorifies God as we were meant to do.
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