Bearing Good Fruit With Patience
By Pastor Mitch
November 29, 2017
How long does it take for an orange seed to grow to a tree and start bearing fruit? It can take as long as 15 years according to SFgate.com. Fruits are not going to appear on a fruit plant just after a year of growth. It will take much time and cultivation. An orange fruit tree does not need to be fully grown before it starts to bear fruit. And yet 15 years is not a short time. The farmer has to have the patience and endurance to cultivate the orange tree till it bears good fruit.
HEARING THE WORD WITH A GOOD AND NOBLE HEART
The Lord Jesus taught His disciples that it takes nobility and patience before the seed of the word would bear fruit in life.
But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” Luke 8:15
- Having a noble and good heart
Nobility is about being honourable. It is having a morally good heart that seeks to do the right thing each time. And the right thing to do every time we listen to God’s word is to treasure and keep it. We would seek to fill our heart with it and not the cares, riches and pleasures of this world. We will patiently wait for it to bear fruit. Even it means going through tribulation, we would still press on and hold fast to the truth taught from the Scriptures. Fruit will come but it takes endurance (Hupomone) on our part
- Examples of those who have a noble and good heart
Luke had identified some who had listened to the word with a noble and good heart. There were the disciples who were with Jesus as He went preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. There were also a group of ladies who provided for the Lord Jesus from their substance (Luke 8:1-3). These were the ones who had bore fruit after hearing the word of God with a good heart. They responded with love for the Lord and showed it in practical ways. Let’s also seek to listen to God’s word with a noble and good heart and to hold fast to it till it will bring forth good fruit one day.
