Bible Study
Today I have been thinking about fruit bearing and what this means to the Christian. Remembering when I was a child I loved drawing pictures of a house with a garden, picket fence and an apple tree full of big red apples. I thought about the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John "a tree cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in Christ" John 15 v 4-5. He is the root and we are the branches that are supposed to bear fruit. So, what is the fruit? Well as I sat there this morning thinking about it I pictured that drawing of the apple tree and on each apple were the words LOVE, JOY, PEACE, FORGIVENESS, GENTLENESS, COMPASSION, MERCY and each of these don't just grown by themselves, they need Sun, Rain, Nutrients and everything else to be healthy and produce fruit. You can tell from a distance an apple tree, you don't have to go searching for them. They are there to be picked, eaten and enjoyed. I thought about what it takes in a christian to bear this fruit. Any gardener will tell you, any fruit tree has to go through pruning to produce more fruit, healthier fruit. Likewise, a christian life is one of growth and development (transformation); this only happens the more we abide/rest/trust in Christ; read and obey His word. Growth is painful, doing things that may not be comfortable/easy but when we do, we grow. What do I mean? Myself and other christian will tell you change can come through trials. When we read the bible we can see how we are asked to and want to live, how weak we are and need God's help. We know we need kindness towards those who may offend, criticise, misuse us; forgiveness, mercy for those who hurt us; compassion for those in need; going the extra mile to help someone else, thinking more about them than ourselves; these things don't come easy at times; but, we only need look at Jesus and how He loved, forgave, was merciful and compassionate, meeting the needs of others. You may be thinking "that's okay for Jesus He is God" ah well! when we profess faith in Christ as a follower of Him, He gives us the ability and power to walk the walk of faith. It is because of pride, selfishness, that we don't want to do what is the right thing because we think more of ourselves than what God wants and what pleases Him. He knows we are human, He knows our weakness and still loves us but His desire is that we become more Christlike in our daily lives; that brings Glory to Him. When we lack these things that's when the pruning comes, so we will produce fruit and even more fruit. Living this way brings us peace in our hearts and minds as well as producing fruit that others can take and eat. The thing is, what I have been thinking about as well, is our need to look at ourselves and be truly honest, am I a tree that gives - a giver - or am I just a taker of others'fruits? Do I give back to others or just take?
Freely you have received - freely give
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
