THE DEVELOPMENT OF WHOLE GRAIN

GREETINGS IN THE NAME OF JESUS:


  So much has already been said about growth in Christ throughout our churches one would think that nothing else could possibly be added, but that is so untrue.  If we take the time to look in
  John 12:24 we will see Jesus once again explaining about what it takes for a grain of wheat to be productive in the field. " Unless a grain of wheat falls into the Earth and dies; it remains by itself alone, but if it dies it brings forth much fruit (wheat) ".

  That concept has been widely lost on most of us as we attempt to go into a kind of service for God and attempt to spear ourselves from any real commitment.  I am a part of a bible study group on Tuesdays in our church small groups that recently discussed this in a roundabout way. The problem we have in our churches isn't the problem anymore; the problem is the solution it will take to fix the problem.  It is; in other words, the commitment that we each make to our personal commitment in fixing it.

What Jesus was trying to get across to us was the fact that unless we go into our Christian life with the idea of completely exchanging this temporary life for the eternal life that He has promised us we will find it all but impossible for us to succeed in developing any growth, and certainly in bearing any Spiritual fruit with our lives.  That is why God has told us that we can't have this life and the eternal promise of life He has given us at the same time. The continued fight we go through to maintain one foot in this world and one foot in our faith in Christ is impossible for us.  You see this world is also requiring us to be all in when it comes to our participation in the things of this life as well, and it is pretty good at taking up our time and energy in running from place to place as we chase the things we are told we need to be happy.  The problem always ends up that we are never happy; not completely without fulfilling our created purpose, and that is going to take us having a good relationship with God first, which this world hates.

When we start to consider what it takes to produce good spiritual fruit we must take in the whole cycle in the process.  It is much more than simply planting a seed from the Spirit and walking away.  It also takes preparing and tilling the ground we plant in.  It means watering the seed and the ground so that complete nutrients are given to the development of that seed, but even more important is the commitment of that seed to death before it can reproduce fruit of its own.  It isn't our job to lead that seed to give its life.  We would never have been in the ministry of planting a seed for growth if we had not first died to the idea of self-first.  It is time for us to assess where we are in the process of death before we try to bear fruit for the Kingdom.  That may be one of the reasons you are having such a difficult time with it.  May you richly bless God through your life in Him.



THE UNWORTHY SERVANT