Be Fruitful

Be fruitful. If you’ve read Genesis, you’ve read those two words. Typically, we understand fruitfulness as procreation, and we act on it. But being fruitful ism ore than just having babies.

Paul uses this term when addressing the Colossians when he says, “being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” It is obvious that he intends the good work to produce something good that points to God.

Everyone bears some kind of fruit.

So what is it to be fruitful? Well, technically, everyone is fruitful. We all have influence on things or people that can change behavior, actions or reactions. Jesus put it bluntly in Matthew 7:17-20, “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. therefore by their fruits you will know them”

But when we read “be fruitful”, God isn’t saying that what we think is good fruit is necessarily what He meant. God means for us to reflect Him, His love, goodness and mercy, which is the the fruit He intends for us all. This is actually the easiest way for all people to be fruitful according to God’s will.

Are you stuck in traffic and you’re late for a meeting? Is your impulse reaction to start honking your horn and complaining very loudly to whoever will hear you? Exactly what good does that do you? The anger you express isn’t really relieved, although the yelling exertion might drain some of that excess energy. No, actually what it does in increase your frustration and anger because you’re too focused on the problem. What if, instead of yelling, you started singing to music on the radio? What? You’re afraid the people in the car next to you might see you and laugh? Don’t you think those same people would see you yelling at nobody in your car and think you look just as ridiculous? The only difference is, those people who laugh are smiling because your singing has brought them a sliver of joy while your anger will only provoke them to think critically and fuel their frustration. That, my friends, is fruit.

It’s not always easy to put that smile on, but once you do, it’s easy to see the fruit it brings. When you’re having a bad day, the first thing you want to do is to find someone who will listen while you complain. But what if you changed your response to finding someone who could use your help, instead? Maybe they’re having a bad day too, and you can help them through it. Or what if you stepped back from your circumstances and just took several deep breaths to refocus your mind? Most often, what that does is help you see the remedy to your problem more clearly, and it also provides a good example for others around you to follow. This is fruit, too.

There’s always a catch.

But there’s a catch. Isn’t there always? You can’t do this by yourself and be successful every time. It’s just not possible. The more you resolve to do God’s will, the harder it is. Not because you don’t want to, but because the enemy already knows your weaknesses and he attacks them continuously until you break down. That’s his M.O. It’s subtle most of the time, and you don’t even realize it until you’ve already lost your temper or acted out against God’s will.

Thank God for His mercy! Not only will He forgive you for your callous mistake (callous because you thought you could do this without God), but He also is ready and willing to guide you and help you succeed!

Live in Him and He will show you how.

Jesus said plainly, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.” Jesus invites us to abide in Him. When we accept, He lives in us and starts to show us the difference between God’s will and the world’s. He plainly tells us that we cannot do it without Him. Period.

When we truly give our whole hearts to Jesus, our Savior, the Son of God, then we will truly be able to obey God’s command to be fruitful. Our lives will change, our behavior will change, we will change. Not from anything we have done to change, but what Jesus has done within us that changes our desires and our will. We turn away from our flesh and turn towards the Son. Everyone around us will see the evidence of Him in our lives, and will want what we have found.  Peace. That is planting seeds and bearing fruit.

Happy Sunday to you! Love and Peace….Molly

 

What Do I Believe?

Am I really a believer? Do I really believe that there is a God who loves me? Is there a God at all? I know I say I do, but how do I act? Do I live like there is a Supreme Being who created me and only wants the best for me?

I have to ask myself this a lot. Not because I don’t believe in my heart, but because I know how I think on good days as well as on bad days. I’m not perfect, for sure, but I have found that if I am not on guard every moment of every day, some seriously wrong thoughts creep into my mind.

Do I really appreciate God for all He has done for me? Not just for providing for me everyday, but for forgiving me for all my fleshly sins. Everything that I have done that has been for my own convenience and not with integrity of my heart. Everything that I have done for my own comfort rather than for your justice. For allowing the abundance of selfishness, lust and fear and jealousy to enter my household through the media and outside influences intent to pull me away from the only One who loves me unconditionally.

Do I recognize sin? Do I even know what it really is and how it relates to the God whom I believe in? Do I know what He wants for my life and am I brave enough to go after it in His name?  Who am I in the scheme of all things?

Do I believe that there is a devil? Someone who hates God and all that He stands for with every ounce of his being. Someone who would do anything to take all that God loves away from Him and induce suffering, pain and death. Do I think that this devil has any influence on me or do I live my daily life in denial of any such being?

Where do I start believing and how do I live my life, as an individual, to show what I believe not to you necessarily, but to myself?

If I believe in God, my Creator, then I must also believe there is a devil who counteracts everything that God stands for. If I believe in good, then I believe in evil, for we cannot have one without the other. If I believe in light, then I believe in darkness, for we cannot have one without the other. Where do I fit in?

I have participated in both light and darkness. I have done both good and bad. I have not proven to myself that I am on one side or the other. But I know that I must choose and live my life to its fullest in regards to that choice, or my life, as I have lived it, will choose for me.

As I focus on all that I have done, good and bad, I discover Who God is and what He has done for me. As I imagine Jesus Christ hanging on the Cross, giving Himself to save me from eternal darkness, I realize that my life must reflect the love and appreciation I have for His sacrifice. I must learn all that He intends for me to learn and live my life in light, illuminating the darkness that surrounds me rather than being snuffed out. I will recognize my own sin, all that I have done that God hates, and beg Him for grace.

His forgiveness exceeds all other blessings, no matter how big or small they may seem. That is what I believe and that is how I will live.