In business you can make headlines with a 10x advantage or a 10x growth story; but what if I told you that according to Matthew 13:8 growth of 30x, 60x, or even 100x is your potential. It is God’s design for us to work and to be fruitful with our life. This is why each of us has a deep longing to make an impact like this and to find purpose and significance in our work.
When it comes to your return over the next 5 years would you rather see your company grow 10x or see 10 lives changed for Christ? Are you more drawn to building earthly multiples or heavenly multiples? These are by no means mutually exclusive, but a good question to ask ourselves to see where our hearts are actually drawn. If you had to pick one, which would it be? Are your day-to-day actions in line with creating this form of return? Jesus’ parables can help us understand these heavenly returns.
Analogies of seeds, vines and trees are used throughout the Bible to help us understand how we grow, impact, and thrive. In the parable of the sower there are several outcomes for the planted seeds: some are eaten before they have a chance to sprout; others sprout but don’t have deep roots and die; some get choked out by weeds; and finally, some sprout in good soil and thrive. As Christians, we are the seeds that sprout and thrive. But the passage doesn’t stop there. Matthew 13:8 says the seeds that lived, produced yields of 30x, 60x, or even 100x what was sewn. Jesus wants our lives to be transformed and rooted in Him which naturally produces a harvest in our lives! It is by God’s grace that He allows our work to be fruitful and have abundant returns.
Unfortunately, many times we miss the crucial steps that come before the impact. The seeds that flourished had two main things going for them: they were planted in good soil and they were able to grow deep roots to soak up the nutrients. For Christians, the good, nutritious soil is Jesus, our author and perfecter of our faith. The deep root system is our heavenly perspective. It’s the strength found in looking to heaven that allows us to endure any earthly storm (Hebrews 12:2). It’s abiding in Him, His word, and His commands. Through this and our ever deepening relationship with Him, one that is built day after day and year after year, we can produce abundant fruit. However, without abiding and without a deep relationship, that seed withers and dies.
Jesus uses another parable to help us understand how to remain fruitful. John 15:5-8 says, “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. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Once again, the precursor to bearing much fruit is remaining in Jesus as the source of all our strength, purpose, worth, and ambition.
God intends for us to have an impact on his kingdom and to have a meaningful life, but it all starts with Jesus. We’re not able to create returns of 30x, 60x or 100x unless we’re living in a deep relationship with God, soaking up His nutrients and seeking His wisdom. But once those pieces are in place, God desires, even expects, that there be an exponential impact in our lives that in turn impacts others! He wants there to be a drastic change in every single part of our lives. From how we run our businesses, to how we treat our spouse and kids, to the thoughts that run through our minds. The impact of our faith shouldn’t have any bounds. It should permeate every category of our life. It should affect every single person around us, every organization we’re a part of, every group that we join. And as that’s happening, we need to keep drawing energy from the source: the good, nutritious soil that is Jesus. It’s exciting to serve a God that wants us to be relevant in His plan. In a big world where we may feel inconsequential, God has a plan and a race for us. He desires for us to do God’s will, finish His work (John 4:34), and have a massive 30-100x impact with our lives.
Psalm 92:12-13
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.”