"Yet he who is being sown in the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the worry of this eon and the seduction of riches are stifling the word, and it is becoming unfruitful. Now he who is being sown on the ideal earth, this is he who is hearing the word and understanding, who by all means is bearing fruit, and is producing; these indeed, a hundred, yet these sixty, yet these thirtyfold."
Matthew 13: 22-23, Concordant New Testament
I've recently had the opportunity to share Jesus with a coworker and good friend. We talk of what I know of Him, and of what He has accomplished in my life. The fact that my friend is deeply seated in the teachings of the Orthodox religion makes some of our discussions somewhat...interesting. Indeed, there have been more than a few times when he has gone silent as he contemplates the Jesus I am speaking with the Christ he has been taught to know. For these two versions of Jesus are completely different in nature. On the one hand, I speak to my friend of a Jesus who loved me enough to give Himself in my place {2 Corinthians 5:21}. For his part, my friend will speak of a Jesus I once knew from my own time in the church. This is the Jesus of mercy and judgement. The Jesus who, despite dying to forgive me of my sins, willingly judges and condemns those He finds unworthy. I find this church version of Jesus to be a total contradiction of the Christ I now know in me, so I continue to speak the Jesus I have come to know. I am a sower of the seeds of the gospel of Christ. For his part, my friend is a sower as well, of the Jesus he has been taught for so long. In my eyes, they could not be any more different from each other. Ironically, it was the Jesus which I once learned of in church that convinced me to seek the Jesus I now know. Sitting in a Easter morning service, I was encouraged to step forward to reveal any unspoken sins which I might be hiding. Of course, this was right after listening to the pastors sermon on how Jesus died on that cross to rid me of my sin. The Jesus I had grown up learning didn't mesh with what I knew in my heart to be true.
Yet hallow the Lord Christ in your hearts, ever ready with a defense for everyone who is demanding from you an account concerning the expectation in you, but with meekness and fear.
1 Peter 3: 15, Concordant New Testament
Jesus speaks to us in His parable of the sower of those who hear His word. There are those who hear the word, yet they have little knowing or understanding of the word, and the seed falls on rocky ground. Meanwhile, there are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world choke the meaning of the word and they remain unfruitful {Matthew 13:22}. Then there are those who hear the word of the Lord, understand it, and in turn bear much fruit {Matthew 13:23}. Which of these are you? I believe that my friend falls into the first category. He receives the word of the Lord with joy and eagerness, yet he has no solid root for the word to take hold and prosper. This was me. I received the word of Jesus with joy, yet I knew very little about Him. There was no solid ground for the word of Jesus to take hold of in me at the time. Why do I mention this? Because in our time knowing the Lord Jesus, we will be led to sow the word of the Lord unto others. Not everyone whom we speak to will receive what we proclaim in the same way. This is not meant to discourage, but to encourage us to speak the Jesus we know. The mainstream church has a few thousand years head start in speaking the alternate form of the Jesus I know. Do not be at all surprised if those you speak the Jesus you know to seem somewhat confused. In the end, our goal is not to change their mind, but to speak the truth of Jesus into their heart.
~Scott~
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