If you change your mind, you have abundant fruit

BY CANAAN NOVEMBER 25, 2020

But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred ,sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Bible NIV Matthew 13:23)

The attitude of the mind is very important. It is no exaggeration to say that life depends on how you hold your heart.

There is a story about an American salesman who went to Africa to sell shoes. There were two salesmen, Mr. A and Mr. B, in the shoe makers of rivals. The two-man maker has planned to go to Africa to sell shoes.

However, an unexpected situation awaited them. How Africans didn’t wear shoes. Seeing that, Mr. A hurriedly reported to the head office. “Shoes don’t sell here because they’re all barefoot. It’s impossible to move into Africa. There’s no possibility, so you should definitely stop.”

On the other hand, Mr. B also hurriedly contacted the head office after seeing the local people. “Send me your shoes as soon as possible. No one is wearing shoes here. It would be great if all of these people bought them. There are endless possibilities in Africa. By all means Let’s move into Africa. I think we will definitely succeed. “

The two saw the same scene, but their reactions were quite different. The way they hold their heart was different. Even in the same situation, it makes a completely different decision depending on whether we take it positively or negatively.

The above are the words spoken in the conclusion of the famous parable of Jesus. Parables are metaphorical expressions that explain moral and spiritual truths in everyday terms. There are four types of land in this parable (Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23), but the land represents the attitude of the heart that a person has. The same seeds were sown on each land, but the results were completely different. Similarly, even if a person reads or hears wonderful words, the way he or she holds his or her mind can have completely different consequences in life.

The person who sows the seed is a farmer. The farmer sowed the seeds. It seems that Israel at that time was sowing miscellaneous seeds (although it is now a state-of-the-art agriculture). While walking in the field, they grab some seeds from the bag by hand and throw the seeds. Then they put a hoe and covered it with soil. Where did the seed fall? Jesus lists four types.

1. Seeds that fell on the “roadside” (verse 4)

2. Seeds that fell on “thin rocks” (verse 5)

3. Seeds that fell into “in the thorns” (verse 7)

4. Seeds that fell into the “good land” (verse 8)

This is a parable. Verse18-23 are commentary.

The seeds sown on the “roadside” are eaten by birds. A roadside is a stubborn heart that has been trampled. It’s a mess. In such a state of mind, even if the seeds are sown, they will be robbed of something (verse 19).

The seeds sown on the side of the road are the state of mind of those who are trapped in prejudices or who are bound by the framework of common sense and are unable to make new ideas or discover new things. No new good thing will be born from the heart that can only grasp things by tradition, convention, and one’s own values. There is only decline. Flexibility is required.

Columbus embarked on a voyage and discovered the Americas, ignoring the common sense of the time that “the other side of the horizon is like a waterfall, so it is very dangerous to go far.” Is our heart always open to new good things?

The second is the seed sown in “thin rocks”. The soil was not deep, so it sprouted immediately, but when the sun went up, it burned and died because it had no roots (verses 20 and 21).

This is the state of mind of those who are open to good words and new things, but who give up quickly and throw things out quickly. Someone who is hot and burns quickly, but cools quickly. It’s nice to jump right into something new, but it doesn’t last long because they don’t have the patience. It is vulnerable to difficulties＆ trials and can easily trip over. As a result, they get nothing.

Napoleon Hill, famous for his philosophy of success, tells such a story. In the days of the American gold rush, a man named Derby had a gold vein in Colorado. A lot of gold came out of the gold vein, but after a while, it seemed that it didn’t come out at all.

The derby dug a little deeper and a little deeper. But he didn’t get a little money. So he stopped digging and sold mining tools and gold mines to prospectors for hundreds of dollars. However, the prospector dug millions of dollars worth of gold veins not far from where the derby stopped digging, less than three feet (about 90 centimeters).

The problem with Derby is that it was too early to give up. If he could keep trying without giving up a little more, the result would have been different.

The seeds sown in the third “inside the thorns” had roots, but the thorns grew and were blocked, and did not bear fruit (verse 22). They are open to good words and new things, but they cannot bear fruit because they are blocked by various desires and the deception of wealth. This is the state of mind of a person who is dual-minded and has no established priorities.

The last is a seed sown in “good land”, which grows well and bears abundant fruits (verse 23). A good land is a soil that is well cultivated and fertilized so that the seeds sprout and grow well. This is the state of mind of a person who accepts Jesus’ words, human advice, new information and knowledge with a straightforward heart and adapts wisely.

The question is what our state of mind is. We need to cultivate our hearts and keep them in good condition. There are many unexpected events in life, such as the violence of the coronavirus, which cannot be changed or controlled. But the only thing we can control is our own mind. If we change our mind, we should be able to bear fruit in our life.

There is such a word in Proverbs 4:23 of the Bible. Watch as much as you can and watch over your heart. The fountain of life is about to come.