But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Matthew 13:23

Have you ever given much consideration into what “crop” is being produced when the seed falls on good soil? Growing up in church and hearing many sermons preached on or around this subject, I had always gotten the impression that the crop was in reference to souls. The more souls you could “win”, the bigger your crop. This led me to think that people like Billy Graham surely was one that produced 100 fold. It also subversively got me to thinking that the 100, 60, 30 meant I had to have a formal ministry of some kind in order to be effective. But is counting numbers really what 100/60/30 fold is all about?

We know from a few verses earlier that the seed is the message of the Kingdom. What is the message of the Kingdom? If you could take all that the Kingdom is and put it into a thumbnail summary, one good definition might be that the Kingdom of God means God’s effective rule and authority within people that then manifests itself across the major spheres of any given society or culture, bringing prosperity and success both physically as well as spiritually.

The crop or fruit that is yielded from the seed of the message that Jesus was referring to includes every blessing man can enjoy. Widespread, right? Think of things such as true justice in human affairs, true love in human relationships, the absence of fear-driven control, and so much more. Still widespread, okay… Bring it all the way down to the individual level. Essentially it is the manifestation of all of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 played out in my life, and in the every day human experience.

Wait a minute, that makes it sound like everything I say matters, or everything I do matters! Yes, its the Butterfly Effect of everything we say and do having an impact not only on those around us, not only for this day and age, but for generations to come.

I honestly believe that when we stand before our Lord, He is not going to ask us how big was our ministry. He won’t ask us how much money we gave or to what cause. He won’t ask how many people we may have witnessed to. He will be more interested in the relationships we developed and tended. How did we contend for His greatness within others? He will be looking to see how much fruit (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) the Holy Spirit was able to bring forth from our lives. THAT is where the 100/60/30 fold really matters!

How do we produce fruit? By abiding in the vine. We don’t have to strive or struggle, we only need abide. Jesus says in John 15:5, ““I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”. In case that is a bit confusing, it’s all about daily cultivating and enjoying a deep, intimate relationship with our King so that all that He is, all that He has, will naturally flow through us. Hey, I can do that! So can you.