Fruit...Bearing, Not Eating

I like fruit! It's good! When I lived in Elkhart, I used to enjoy going to the farmers market to pick up some fresh fruit...raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, and so much more! This fruit made an excellent substitute for an unhealthy dessert! In the summer, I love to mix together various fruits in a bowl, add just a touch of sugar, a little lemon juice, and serve it in a wine glass with a little dab of whipped cream on top! Mmm...it's so good! And, fruit is good for you!

But, today, I'm not wanting to talk about eating fruit....I want to talk about bearing fruit. This week, the whole idea of bearing fruit has just been really coming at me. I don't know if it's one of those things where God is trying to hint that I need to do a better job of bearing fruit (most likely this is the case) or if it's a message that I'm to share (this could also be the case, as we all need the reminder to check out the fruits we are bearing...are they good or bad???). Either way, God is definitely trying to get my focus on fruit.

It all started Sunday night at our Care Group. The study for the evening was focusing on the fruits we bear. Part of the studies focus was pulled from Galatians 5:16-26. It really concentrated on verses 19-23. These are the verses that talk about our sinful nature versus the fruit of the Spirit. We were challenged to look into our lives and see what's coming out of us. Are we bearing more acts of the sinful nature (sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like) or are we bearing the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)? We were asked to examine what acts of the sinful nature were interfering with our walk with Christ and what fruits of the Spirit we need to grow in. It was a good lesson and a good reminder to concentrate on putting the self aside and focusing on bearing more fruit.

Well, the other day, Pastor Dale put an article by David Wilkerson on my desk. Part of the article deals with bearing fruit. He looks at John 15:16, which says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last." God has chosen us and appointed us to go and bear fruit. This is not a simple calling. This is one that will affect the entirety of our lives. Wilkerson was writing about how people are continually looking for our purpose in life. He narrows it down to the simple statement that "we are all called and chosen to bear fruit." That is our life's purpose...to bear fruit. He goes on to explain the bearing fruit is more than bringing people to know the Lord, it's more than being filled with love, joy, peace, etc. He says that bearing fruit means that we are continually growing in the likeness of Christ. In order to bear fruit, we are to become like Jesus. He says, "Growing more and more into Jesus' likeness is our core purpose in life. It has to be central to all our activities, our lifestyle, our relationships. Indeed, all our gifts and callings - our work, ministry, and witness - must flow out of this core purpose. If I am not Christ-like at heart - if I'm not becoming noticeably more like him - I have totally missed God's purpose for my life."

This really spoke to me this morning. Bearing fruit, becoming like Christ is an every second of every day sort of thing. Too often, we schedule in God time. We separate the sacred and the secular, the holy and the un-holy. We compartmentalize our lives into things that are of God and things that are not of God. The problem with this is that when we separate our lives into categories we begin to forget that we are to bear fruit,we forget that God wants our whole lives to be about Him. We are to be like Christ in every aspect of our lives. Our becoming like Christ, our Christian walk is not separate from any of our daily activities. The entirety of our lives is to be a holy act of worship. I think the times in my life where I notice my fruit is starting to go bad are those times when I begin to separate things out...I'll spend the morning in prayer, but the rest of the day is mine. The whole day should be His, none of it mine. Only then will I begin to grow in Christ-likeness and bear the fruit that He has called me, chosen me to bear.