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Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. . . Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. . . 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.”

The farmers where I live recently planted their corn crops for the year. At the time of writing this devotion, those corn kernels have sprouted and are about six inches tall. They don’t look like much. But by late summer, those little plants will stand taller than the farmer who planted them. From one kernel of corn, one stalk grows. On that stalk, an ear of corn forms. And on that ear, there may be hundreds of kernels. One seed can produce far more than itself.

That is the picture Jesus gives us when he describes the seed that falls on good soil. It produces a crop that is one hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.

The seed is God’s Word. When God plants his Word in the heart, he produces what we could never grow on our own.

First, God produces faith in Jesus. Through the gospel, the good news of what Jesus has done, God teaches us to trust that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead, and gives us forgiveness and life.

But the Word doesn’t stop there. Where God gives faith, he also grows fruit. Love where there was selfishness. Joy where there was despair. Peace where there was anxiety. Patience where there was frustration. Kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control where sin had made the heart hard and tangled.

And then the fruit multiplies. A person comforted by the Word speaks comfort to someone else. A forgiven sinner tells another sinner about forgiveness. A parent teaches a child. A friend shares a promise. A congregation supports a mission. The same seed that took root in one heart is scattered into another.

One seed produces much fruit. That’s what God’s Word does.

Lord Jesus, plant your Word deeply in my heart. Grow faith and good fruit in me and use me to share your Word with others. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.