Be Fruitful
Most people love fruit. I know I do. I love banana’s with my ice cream, strawberries with my shortcake, peaches in my cobbler and apples in my bread pudding among others. The tastes and colors of fruit seem to be endless. I read this week there are approximately 2000 types of fruits around the world and the western world uses only 10% of those. There is so much more to enjoy. But according to Statista, the most popular fresh fruits around the world are bananas, apples, and grapes.
God, who creatively designed all the fruit we so thoroughly enjoy, also loves to use the metaphor of fruit to display the beauty, power, and blessing of spiritual fruitfulness in our lives.
Here are a few fruit facts we should keep in mind as we seek to live a fruitful life that honors our Lord and blesses others around us:
Bearing fruit that pleases God is impossible without being united with Jesus Christ (John 15:1–2, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away'”; 4–5, “the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me”).
Bearing fruit reveals who we are and what we really believe (Matt 7:17–20, "So then, you will know them by their fruits”; John 15:8, “and so prove to be My disciples”).
Bearing fruit is expected by God as one of His followers (John 15:16, "that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain").
Bearing fruit is one of the ways by which we glorify Him. (John 15:8, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”)
Bearing fruit is produced by the active and free-flowing ministry of Jesus Christ (John. 15:1–6, “Abide in Me and I in you”), the Scriptures (Psalms 1:1–3, “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in it season”; Luke 8:15) and the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23, “the fruit of the Spirit is…”).
Bearing fruit comes in different shapes and sizes:
The fruit of good deeds (Col 1:10a — “bearing fruit in every good work”)
The fruit of conversion (1 Cor. 16:15: “the household of Stephanas, the first fruits of Achaia”; Romans 1:13)
The fruit of praise (Hebrews 13:15—“the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name”)
The fruit of character (Galatians 5:22–23): Nine spiritual graces…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Consider using the prayer Paul prayed for the Colossian church to pray for yourself and others: “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light” (Colossians 1:9–12).
Pastor Jeff
“The Trinity is not a math problem to be solved. It’s the good news that God is love, and you’re invited.”