grand stands
"In the measure you give you shall receive, and more besides." —Mark 4:24
If we hear God's word and accept it, we will bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold (Mk 4:20). Why do some Christians bear great fruit while others produce little fruit?
- God gives each of us different mission fields, which produce different yields.
- God gives us different charisms, supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, which can significantly increase our yield.
- Some Christians put the lamp of God's word (see Ps 119:105) on more and taller lampstands so as to give light to all in the house. Lampstands are opportunities to proclaim God's word.
This book and other media are stands for God's word. Births, deaths, sicknesses, and successes all can be stands for God's word. A marriage, family, job, school, factory, office, team, or truck can be stands from which the light of God's word shines.
Those who produce abundant fruit by setting up stands for God's word are not necessarily the most creative but those more deeply in love with the Lord. If we love someone, we love their word, and that love "impels us" to take every opportunity to proclaim the Lord and His word (see 2 Cor 5:14).
Love. Use and make lampstands for God's word. Bear a most abundant harvest.
Prayer: Father, make me like a seed which dies to bear great fruit (Jn 12:24).
Promise: "Who am I, Lord God, and who are the members of my house, that You have brought me to this point?" —2 Sm 7:18
Praise: Maria quietly and patiently continues to pray for her husband's conversion.
Reference: (Set up a stand for God's Word by teaching the Bible. Order our tapes on the Bible Teachers Series. Our six-tape audio series starts with AV 117-1. Our three-part video series starts with V-117.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert A. Stricker, June 23, 2003
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 26, 2003