Earlier this morning I picked up my Bible. I only read through a few lines of text before I received a revelation on relationships. Just this past weekend, I went to visit one of my family members for the Thanksgiving holidays. As I was getting out of my vehicle, I began to smell the fragrance of fruit blowing in the wind. Certain smells just make me smile 🙂 . Plus, one thing about me is that I love fruits!
My father planted a few different types of fruit trees on his property some years ago. As I made my way over to the trees, I saw all the fruit which had fell to the ground over time. Some were old and rotten, some birds or other animals had eaten, and some probably had recently fell beside the trees due to the wind… and some were very plump sitting on the limbs of the trees, ripe and ready for picking. So I picked a few to take home.
This morning I was reading in Mark 4, the Parable of the Four Soils. Jesus is telling a story and teaching about how the Word of God can be either fruitful or unfruitful in someone’s life. Most people know this parable. However, while reading it this morning I began to receive a deeper revelation on how the parable can also help provide wisdom in identifying character traits with people.
Because we all need wisdom in identifying whom to befriend and trust. There’s a lot of benefits when you know who to allow in your life. Whether it’s a friendship or a more intimate relationship. I know that all relationships require sacrifice. But, how do I identify those who are willing to sacrifice for me?
The repercussions of ignorance and making poor choices with relationships are always unexpected and can oftentimes be too much to bear.
It’s so crazy how the natural world around us can illustrate our lives, which Jesus further explains to his disciples in the parable of the four soils. But, let’s change the parable to four people types instead of soils. And make the variables in the equation to where the seeds sown equates to everything which someone has received in life. The soil is a person’s lifestyle (their discipline or lack of, their hobbies, the music they listen to, basically how they spend time and what they choose to spend it on). And, the plant growth or fruit (what is produced from the seed) reflects how they will respond to those investments.
I always think that on a first date, or even on an interview, everyone tends to be all smiles 🙂 . Walking around, “Do da do da de de do” 🙂 . Hopeful for new things to come. We hope for the best so we show our best, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Yet still, we only know in part when we begin a relationship.
People always say, including me, “I didn’t know such and such about this person.” after the fact. But, I believe this will bring wisdom on how to identify character traits, and reveal what behaviors are true and consistent, while also recognizing which ones are temporal and inconsistent. Here are the four types of people.
- This type of person has little to nothing, nor has achieved very much in life. Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, life didn’t even give them a chance to fulfill their purpose – Seed sown beside road (birds quickly came and ate them up)
- This type of person is very emotional and inconsistent with everything. They are eager to be productive, but have no real foundation in life in order to make it happen – Seed sown on rocky ground (due to the little soil on which it lied upon, it quickly sprang up… and when the sun came, in a short time, it was scorched & withered away due to lack of soil)
- This type of person has inner issues, may have difficulty expressing true love and can be very selfish. They usually have been through a lot and have overcome a lot. However, in order to survive, they had to redefine various things in life which may affect their actions and values – Seed sown around and among thorns (the seed grew, but the thorns surrounded it and choked it, preventing it from growth)
- This person has some accomplishments, and usually has a lot of other good relationships they have made over time. Throughout their life they were blessed with everything they needed in order to thrive – Seed sown on good soil (the seed flourished and grew, increased, and produced other seeds)
Essentially, being naive can now be a choice. You can determine the type of person someone is regardless of what they say or how they smile. But, after having wisdom you still have to ask yourself the question, “Is this relationship worth it?”.