Tasty fruit?

Mark 4: 1 - 20

....those who hear the word, and accept it and bear fruit

It is never easy being a church 'leader', even if only a 'head of ministry' in a small church. This Sunday we are having a planning meeting and as head of small group ministry I am to give my plans for the year. In a small church it is not as simple as getting small group leaders and setting up a few new groups, with relevant study material and maintaining the ongoing ones. I have been speaking to possible attendees and apart from those already in a group, there does not seem to be much new interest. I don't know the possible reasons for this and I don't want to surmise that non attenders are harboring poor soil for God's word. But there lies a 'problem' that church leaders expend a lot of time and energy trying to resolve. There will always be people nurturing (or perhaps not nurturing) the word in all types of soil. How do we address the issue and help people to 'want' to change the soil of their lives? Of course the issue also goes back to the fact that perhaps some people prefer to nurture themselves in the Word in private rather than in a group setting.

Another related issue that this parable brings up is the nature of the 'fruit'. What is the type of fruit that Jesus means? If it is just service, then are those who are busy serving presumed to be on the right track? Is this always the case? I know from personal experience that it need not be so. A person's spiritual life can be in pretty bad shape and yet they may continue to serve out of sheer habit. This is of course praiseworthy, but at the same time, there is a need to address the lack of growth of the inner life.

I think the church has for a long time measured by human standards. Productivity means something is ok. But perhaps the fruit that Jesus seeks includes something more than visible results. What if he also means that the fruit is a growth in Christlikeness? What if the fruit is not only the outer measurable one but also the one that can only be seen by God? Maybe we should consider this when we reflect on this parable. Most people, including myself find it far easier to 'do' and 'achieve', rather than 'be'. Perhaps we can consider what it means to nurture the Word in order to bear inner fruit, that those who meet us are refreshed, as if by the Lord himself. I'm idealistic about this. But now and then, I have caught glimpses of people who leave that impression when I interact with them. The aroma of the inner fruit brings something of great value into my life.