It’s the time for fall festivals, pumpkin patches, and apple picking in the cool crisp air. Recently, my boyfriend and I went to an apple orchard,
and the trees were filled with ripe, red and golden, edible deliciousness. The
trees that lined the hillside were so loaded down with apples that the limbs on
most of the trees were bending from the weight. Each branch boasted fruit. I
had never seen an apple tree bear as many apples as the tree in the picture
below. That’s why I couldn’t help but snap a quick picture of it.
There is a quote by Evie Brand, a missionary to India, that
I like very much. One day as she looked at a flower poking out of the sidewalk, she
said, “Let me be like that, Lord, flowering best when life seems most dry and
dead.” When I saw the apple tree in the orchard, I thought, “Let me be like
that, Lord, fruitful and effective in every area of my life to the glory of
God.”
I believe everyone has the
desire to be effective and fruitful, productive, and meaningful in this life.
No one aspires to nothingness. Blogs and magazines often appeal to these human
desires. Productivity, fruitfulness etc. is profitable in the business world
and in every-day life. However, it is possible to follow the 11 Expert Tips To Help You Be More Productive in 2014 and Forbes’ 24 Ways To Be Uncommonly Productive Today and simultaneously lead an ineffective and unfruitful
Christian life. You and I may be productive in the things of this earth, but are we as believers in Christ being productive in the things that truly matter, things that will last?
Don't get me wrong. We don't always have to trade one for the other. It's not an either/or, but a both/and. There is value in being productive here on earth when we are applying Colossians 3:23 that says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Applying that verse alone can turn the everyday and the mundane into Kingdom work. It's at the point of "working for the Lord" that earthly productivity collides with fruitfulness in eternity.
I don't know about you, but I desperately want my life to have significance beyond the here and now. In an orchard of fruitless trees, I want my branches loaded down with fruit that can only be explained by Christ in me.
Jesus Christ tells us how to bear fruit in John 15. According to John 15 we cannot live a fruitful Christian life without abiding or remaining in Christ. Christ compares Himself to a vine in this passage, and we as believers in Christ are the branches. He says that "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me" (John 15:4).
Verses five through eight say:
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
It is to the glory of God, that we as believers bear fruit. This is lasting fruit that is only produced in our lives if we are abiding in Christ.
2 Peter 1:3-9 gives further insight into how we can be fruitful and productive in the things that truly matter. It says,
"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins."
As someone who does not want to be ineffective or unproductive (the words "ineffective" and "unproductive" have also been translated "useless" and "unfruitful"), my heart was filled with joy when I read these verses. It was like finding a diamond in the rough. God has provided for us, through Peter, how we are to find freedom from fruitlessness.
In brief, God has given us "everything we need for a godly life." Did you get that? We have no excuses for living ungodly. Through the promises of God, we can be participants in the nature of God and escape the corruption of the world. Wow! Then, for the reason of participating in God's nature and escaping the world's corruption, God tells us through Peter to "make every effort" to add one after another: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. It takes effort to do this, continual effort. If we possess the qualities listed in "increasing measure" then they will keep us from "being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." The picture Peter paints of a fruitful Christian life is far from stagnant. It's growing or increasing.
This side of heaven there will not be a time when we "arrive." The Christian life is not designed for coasting. We cannot ride the waves of yesterday's spiritual victories. While those victories are good reminders of God's faithfulness, today has spiritual battles of it's own that must be won. If you want to be ineffective in the knowledge of Christ, just believe the lie that to live a godly life does not take intentionality and effort and that yesterdays victories can win today's battles.
However, if you're like me and you are a believer in Christ who wants to live a fruitful life to the glory of God, then remain in Christ, and apply 2 Peter 1:3-8 adding faith to goodness, goodness to knowledge, knowledge to self-control, self-control to perseverance, perseverance to godliness, godliness to mutual affection, and mutual affection to love. It takes effort, yes, and it also takes time. Fruit does not show itself immediately. But, God has given us everything we need for "life and godliness." By His power, we can live effective, productive, and fruitful lives.
I leave you with Jesus' words from John 15:16a,
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last..."
Don't get me wrong. We don't always have to trade one for the other. It's not an either/or, but a both/and. There is value in being productive here on earth when we are applying Colossians 3:23 that says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Applying that verse alone can turn the everyday and the mundane into Kingdom work. It's at the point of "working for the Lord" that earthly productivity collides with fruitfulness in eternity.
I don't know about you, but I desperately want my life to have significance beyond the here and now. In an orchard of fruitless trees, I want my branches loaded down with fruit that can only be explained by Christ in me.
Jesus Christ tells us how to bear fruit in John 15. According to John 15 we cannot live a fruitful Christian life without abiding or remaining in Christ. Christ compares Himself to a vine in this passage, and we as believers in Christ are the branches. He says that "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me" (John 15:4).
Verses five through eight say:
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
It is to the glory of God, that we as believers bear fruit. This is lasting fruit that is only produced in our lives if we are abiding in Christ.
2 Peter 1:3-9 gives further insight into how we can be fruitful and productive in the things that truly matter. It says,
"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins."
As someone who does not want to be ineffective or unproductive (the words "ineffective" and "unproductive" have also been translated "useless" and "unfruitful"), my heart was filled with joy when I read these verses. It was like finding a diamond in the rough. God has provided for us, through Peter, how we are to find freedom from fruitlessness.
In brief, God has given us "everything we need for a godly life." Did you get that? We have no excuses for living ungodly. Through the promises of God, we can be participants in the nature of God and escape the corruption of the world. Wow! Then, for the reason of participating in God's nature and escaping the world's corruption, God tells us through Peter to "make every effort" to add one after another: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. It takes effort to do this, continual effort. If we possess the qualities listed in "increasing measure" then they will keep us from "being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." The picture Peter paints of a fruitful Christian life is far from stagnant. It's growing or increasing.
This side of heaven there will not be a time when we "arrive." The Christian life is not designed for coasting. We cannot ride the waves of yesterday's spiritual victories. While those victories are good reminders of God's faithfulness, today has spiritual battles of it's own that must be won. If you want to be ineffective in the knowledge of Christ, just believe the lie that to live a godly life does not take intentionality and effort and that yesterdays victories can win today's battles.
However, if you're like me and you are a believer in Christ who wants to live a fruitful life to the glory of God, then remain in Christ, and apply 2 Peter 1:3-8 adding faith to goodness, goodness to knowledge, knowledge to self-control, self-control to perseverance, perseverance to godliness, godliness to mutual affection, and mutual affection to love. It takes effort, yes, and it also takes time. Fruit does not show itself immediately. But, God has given us everything we need for "life and godliness." By His power, we can live effective, productive, and fruitful lives.
I leave you with Jesus' words from John 15:16a,
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last..."
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