Bearing Fruit Poem by Sylvia Frances Chan

Matthew said that in the Bible
Jesus told about the parable of bearing fruit,

indeed it bears fruit and produces,
in one case a hundredfold,
yet another case sixty, and yet another thirty,

at the end of the parable,
Jesus adds a remarkable phrase,

He says that the seed that fell on good soil yields
'in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty,
and in another thirty.'

Apparently some yield more than others,

but Jesus is not saying that a person's salvation will depend on the amount of fruit a person produces,

rather, he seems to be emphasizing
that the effect of the transforming power
of God's Word and the Holy Spirit
in a person's life
will not be the same for everyone,

this same principle is repeated
in another parable about three servants
who each receive a certain amount from their master "according to their ability",

they must work with the money entrusted to them
and are praised if they do so faithfully,

their master's approval is not based
on the amount of money they earn,
but on the effort they put into it,

even the servant who earned a small sum, is told:
'Well done, good and faithful servant,
you have been a little faithful,
I will give you about a lot'.

Thus Matthew told us about Jesus' other parable.

We know that people in the Church
'have gifts that vary according to the grace
that has been given to us',

not every Christian has the same gifts or abilities as others,

the most important thing in God's eyes is,
all of which bear fruit to the glory of God!