The Harvest
Have you ever wondered why the Lord spoke so much about the heart? Was He talking about the pump that moves your blood through your body, was it the mind, or was it something not physical
at all? The Bible talks about the heart being deceitful and sinful. I think it is deeper than the body or mind… it is you and me! We can’t see the evil in us unless we look into
the mirror of God’s Word and it reveals what we really are. The heart is the very core of what we are and where our thoughts and desires are rooted. Are you ever shocked by a thought
or desire that crops up? Like…Where did that come from? Some like to blame it on the devil for planting an evil thought there. Well, that might not be too far from the
truth! Let’s look at what Jesus said.
Jesus told us two parables about wheat. First, the owner of a field sent men to plant wheat in his field. After the wheat was planted someone came along at night and threw weed seeds
into the field. It was not noticed until the plants sprang up. Then the master of the field said “don’t pull up the weeds because it will destroy some of the wheat. So, when the
wheat is harvested the weeds will be separated from the wheat and the weeds will be burned up in a fire. Second, He told us about the wheat seeds and different condition that affected their
ability to grow and survive. Not all wheat survived! Some of the wheat got eaten by the fowls, some didn’t have roots and dried up, some got chocked by the weeds, and some were in
good ground and were fruitful.
Jesus said “the Word, like wheat, is sown in the hearts of men” and weeds are sown by evil in the world. Everyone responds differently when the word is sown into their hearts. Some
don’t understand the Word and it is stolen from their hearts. Some receive the Word with joy and seem to grow fast but because they are not rooted, when troubles come, they are offended and
fall away. Some become unfruitful because of the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. Then there are those who understand the Word and become fruitful.
What you sow… you shall also reap. We sow in our own hearts!
When we are around others their fruit casts seed into our hearts so we need to choose those we associate with wisely. What looks so innocent on the outside could grow up in our hearts and
choke out the plants in our hearts that give us hope and life…even our salvation!
What about the part where he said don’t pull up the bad plants? I am sure we have all experienced pulling up one plant just to find that a good plant or more came up too. So, how can
we get rid of the bad plants in our hearts or the hearts of others? We can’t! But we can sow good seed consistently and it will grow so thick that the bad seed will no longer have a
place to take root and it will die out. Far too often we see where people try pulling the bad plants out of someone else’s heart and the result is they become offended and lose the love,
hope, peace and other good plants that have been keeping them secure in Christ; and they turn away from God because at least the world hadn’t offended them. Keep sowing the good seed!
The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance… let them multiply in your heart. Cultivate them. Water them. And
God will make known to the world the fruit that is in you and will spread that fruit from heart to heart. That is what God wants to happen in our lives. Be fruitful and multiply is
not just having children, God prunes the good plants in our hearts so they will be fruitful and multiply.
Finally, we need to realize that we, like trees, do not have eyes to see our own fruit. That is why we heard Jesus say, “when I was hungry you fed me, when I was thirsty you gave me to
drink”. And when they heard it they said, “When did I do that?”… because they didn’t see it!! But when the ungodly heard “you didn’t do anything for me” they said we did all these
things and more. What they saw were their works and not fruit. The fruit comes as we continue planting good seed from God’s Word in our hearts. As we remain in Christ, the seed
of the Spirit will begin to grow and bear fruit. Then others will begin to see the fruit and that fruit will cast seeds into their hearts.
Be fruitful and multiply!!
Ken Wyatt