Title: A Productive Life

Date: 2007-09-16

Reference: Jeremiah 17:7-8

Jesus told a story about a farmer who went out to scatter seed in a field. Some of the seed fell along the road and was eaten by birds. Other seeds fell on thin rocky ground and quickly started growing up because the soil wasn’t very deep. But when the sun came up the plants were scorched and dried up because they did not have enough roots. Some other seeds fell where thorn bushes grew up and chocked the plants. But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants produced a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as we scattered. “If you have ears” said Jesus, “Pay attention.” Jesus was speaking about a productive life, a productive ministry.

Have you ever wondered why some people are able to accomplish so much with their lives? What makes them so productive? In America we are conscious of productivity at all levels. Once a month the government releases a report on the gross national product. This report tells how productive our business and industries have been.

Suppose each of us issued an individual production report each month? How productive have we been? Are we using the gift of life wisely? We have been studying The Fruit of The Spirit on Wed. Nights. Each week we examine another aspect of the Fruit of The Holy Spirit. This last week we visited about faithfulness. We noted that everyone has the same amount of time.168 hours in a week. The Bible instructs us to “Live life with a due sense of responsibility.” (Eph. 5:15). We are to make the best possible use of our time. The best use of our time is to invest it in something that is going to outlast us. God wants us to make a difference in this world.

God wants to work through each of us. What matters is not the duration of one’s life but the donation of it. Not how long you have lived, but how you have lived. God’s definition of a productive fruitful life is a life that makes a positive difference. A life invested in the lives of others around us. Making the world a better place.

The Fruit of the Spirit is a Christ like Character. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. God wants to see that kind of fruit in our lives. That is God’s definition of a fruitful, productive life. Jesus said: “This is my father’s will, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8) “You did not choose me” said Jesus, “but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”

If we want to be fruitful we must cultivate some roots. Without roots there is no fruit. Today’s Scripture lesson says “God will bless those who trust Him. They will be like trees growing beside a stream trees with roots that reach down to the water and with leaves that are always green. They will bear fruit every year and are never worried by a lack of rain.” In times of extreme heat and drought a tree needs roots which are a lifeline of nourishment.

Someone has said if you place the roots of a large Oak Tree end to end, they would stretch out several hundred miles. That’s why oak tress are so stable. A banana tree is almost indestructible. You can chop it, burn it but it always grows back. The only way to get rid of a banana tree is to totally uproot it. The roots are key to the fruit.

The Bible says: “The righteous, good people, cannot be uprooted.” (Prov. 12:3) Good people can take the heat and can endure the drought.

Good people are very productive people. Compare the Oak tree to a tumbleweed blowing everywhere. A tumbleweed has no roots. People without roots are like tumbleweeds blowing wherever the wind takes them.

The very best way to cultivate spiritual roots is by reading the Bible and spending time with God in prayer. By being with God’s people in worship and offering God our time and talents. Psalm 1 describes Godly people as being like trees growing beside a stream. Trees that produce fruit in their season. Trees that always have leaves. Godly people succeed in everything they do. Their spiritual roots go deep into the soil of God’s word.

Edith and I have spent lots of time in our Garden this Summer. We have picked sacks and sacks of weeds. We’ve enjoyed the beauty of our flowers and the fruit of our garden. After five years its so good to see bushes and shrubs and trees we’ve planted establish themselves. We enjoy our yard and feel it’s our small part of God’s world. A place for us to work and take care of. This time outdoors has been quite therapeutic. It always clears my head. It also provides some physical activity. There are also many lessons to be learned from the Garden.

Jesus in his parable of the soil mentioned four kinds of soil. Each represents one of the ways we can respond to God’s word. The seed the farmer sowed is the word of God. The seeds that fell among the weeds are those who hear the word of God and let the worries and riches, and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them. The fruit never ripens. In order to be productive we must cultivate good roots and eliminate the weeds.

The government reports 205 varieties of weeds in America.

I think I’ve picked 60% of them in the last few months. As we seek to lead a productive life we have to wonder what are the weeds in each of our lives.the concerns and interests that take our time and prevent us from really bearing fruit with our lives. In America we are often just too busy. Too busy to worship God. To busy to read about God and pray to God. To busy to serve God.

As you know it takes no effort to grown a crop of weeds. We don’t have to do anything to cultivate weeds. They will grow on their own. We have to nurse plants, flowers and vegetables. But we don’t have to do anything to grow weeds. Weeds are a sign of neglect. Again if one neglects time with God, the weeds will grow up and choke us preventing us from bearing fruit.

The seeds will sprout in their own good time. We must be patient and wait for the harvest. A productive person does what he or she can and is content to wait for God to move. I was fascinated to read about a 600 year old seed necklace found in an early grave. One of the seeds was planted and it actually sprouted and grew. The seed had been dormant for over 600 years. But it still had the potential for life.

As we seek to live a productive life we know from experience a productive life doesn’t mean a pain free or trouble free life. Many people in the world are those persons of great faith who have lived productive lives in spite of the painful things they have endured.

The Sudan is a dangerous place, one of the most dangerous places in the world today for Christian people. Sudanese pastors have been tortured in front of their families and beaten repeatedly.

And yet they continue their productive ministry for Christ in that dark place. In the last few years almost 500 pastors have been martyred in the Sudan. Many church buildings have been burned down. Christians people there are the victims of violence driven by the fierce Muslim government in the North. They have been persecuted, and many have died. And yet many are willing to take their place.

Each of us is a manager of a trust. God has entrusted each of us with time, money, material, things, people, and great opportunities. Our objective is to maximize the investment of all God has placed in our care, in our hands. Every day is a new opportunity for service and stewardship. The precious commodity of time is limited. As the Bible says: “Be careful how you use your time. How you invest your life. Not as an unwise person but as a wise person, making the most of every opportunity.”

One of the greatest challenges we face is the temptation to life selfishly. We have been taught from childhood to look out for ourselves. We sometimes think we don’t have time for other people. We focus only on what we want and think we need. No matter how much we acquire we won’t be satisfied. We were created for so much more.

We live productive lives when we begin to give and not take. When we quit trying to figure out what others can do for us and when we start thinking about what we can do for others. God created us to be givers. We re never truly fulfilled as human beings until we learn the simple secret of how to give life away. When we meet other peoples needs God always meets our needs. When we reach out in service and love to others we are living the productive life Jesus talked about.

I know if we are generous to people in need, God will make sure that others are generous to us when we are in need. The Bible says the steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord. If God is ordering our steps that means you and I are exactly where God wants us to be. We are with the people God wants us to share his love with. When we choose to do our very best with what God has given us we live productive lives.