Mature Fruit

By Stewart Whittemore

“Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.” Luke 8:14
Jesus is describing, in the above verse, the fate of those who receive His seed (God's word), but let the "cares, riches, and pleasures of life" get in the way of their relationship with Him (Luke 8:4-15)

There is also a lesson in this verse for us believers in Jesus, and His wonderful gift of Salvation, to not fall into that very same trap. This can happen, when, by being distracted by the things of this world, they become our idols.

What we need to do is guard against these “thorns” in our life by not letting "cares, riches, and pleasures" (not that they are necessarily sinful in themselves) consume us to the point we have no time for God. What marriage would last, for example, if the husband had no time for his wife because he was constantly at work or playing golf, thereby leaving no time for their relationship?

We should, therefore, be constantly working on building an eternal and mature relationship with our "King of kings.” And we can do that by being in God’s word on a daily basis, so that He can speak to us about attaining that maturity. And not only through hearing God’s word, but doing His will; that is, by letting the power of the Holy Spirit “work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 We can also grow in that relationship by maturing in the relationships God gives us here on earth, even if they are “iron sharpening iron” type associations.

Let us, therefore, keep the "thorns" out of our lives so we may enjoy the mature "fruit" of our relationship with God and others.

Stewart Whittemore writes from Grants Pass, Oregon.