BENEFITS FROM LOVING GOD'S WORD

Conclusion of Prove Yourselves to Be "Good Soil"

Finally, there is the seed that falls on good soil. This points to people who receive the message with "a fine and good heart." Naturally, each of us would like to believe that he falls into this category. In the final analysis, though, it is God's view that counts. (Proverbs 17:3; 1 Corinthians 4:4, 5) His Word says that our having "a fine and good heart" is something that we prove by our actions from now until our death or until God brings an end to this wicked system of things. If our initial response to the Kingdom message is positive, that is fine. However, those with a fine and good heart accept God's Word and "retain it and bear fruit with endurance." -Luke 8:15.

The only sure way to retain God's Word in our heart is to read and study both privately and in association with fellow believers. This includes taking full advantage of the spiritual food provided through the channel appointed to care for the spiritual interests of Jesus' true followers. (Matthew 234:45-47) By such means, those who retain God's Word in their hearts are motivated by love to "bear fruit with endurance."

What fruit is born by the fine soil? In the natural world, seeds grow into plants that bear fruit containing the same kind of seed, which can then be scattered to bear further fruit. Similarly, for those with a fine and good heart, the seed of the word grows in them, causing them to progress spiritually until they, in their turn, can sow the seed in the hearts of others. (Matthew 28:19, 20) And their work of sowing is marked by endurance. Jesus showed the importance of endurance in sowing when he said: "He that had endured to the end is the one that will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then he end will come." -Matthew 24:13, 14,

Next time: "Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work"

Watchtower, 1999