Maybe it is because I'm getting older, but I find myself wondering a lot about the value of my life as I've lived it so far.

I mean, I've always wanted my life to be about more than working, earning and taking care of myself. But I also find that I am easily distracted by these very concerns, sometimes for weeks. Sometimes, for months. Sometimes, even for years.

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. The sower plants seeds all over his property, but the only seeds that grow and bear fruit are the ones planted in fertile soil. The other seeds spring up quickly but die soon afterwards. Jesus says the seed that doesn't grow represents people who hear his words but don't act on them. On the other hand, "the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."

Jesus suggests that in the end we will not be asked to answer for how much we listen to God's word, but for how much God's word impacts our lives. We are accountable for how fruitful our lives have been.

I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I can claim a lot of fruit in my life. There have been periods in my life where I have been very enthusiastic, even zealous, about following Jesus Christ. But it doesn't always last. Am I like "one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit"? Sometimes it seems that way.

The point is not how much enthusiasm for Jesus' word that we are able to demonstrate. The point is how much "fruit" that we bear for his kingdom. We are to be of value to other people, a source of nourishment and life, multiplying God's blessing thirty, sixty or a hundred fold.

The good news is that it is never too late to embrace Jesus' word and to let it grow within us. You and I have opportunities every day to hear Jesus' teaching and to respond to it by reaching outside ourselves. We also need to let "worldly anxiety and the lure of riches," and anything else that might "choke the word," have less of a hold on our lives.

If nothing else, today's Gospel tells us that it is a dangerous thing to take the teaching of Jesus Christ lightly. Nowadays, some 2,000 years after he walked among us, it is easy to think of Jesus' teachings as religious clichés. Sayings like "love your neighbor as yourself" and "love your enemies" can take on a greeting card tone in our minds. And we can lose sight of the rich challenges that these teachings represent.

We are called not just to listen to Jesus' teaching, or to agree with it in our minds. In the end, we will be judged not on how often we listened to Jesus' words but on how much we acted on it. We will be held accountable for how much fruit we bear. If you're like me, it's time to think about your life not in terms of church attendance and attention, but in terms of how much good that you do for others.

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.