Fruit

Imagine you have a yard where children play. Or a yard with expansive flower beds. You love your acreage, but it is limited. You try to make the most of it.

After years of contemplation, you determine to find a space in that yard for a fruit tree or two. You investigate the various species, knowing you need to find one suitable to your climate and soil. At long last it is located. The perfect tree. The one that will bear the fruit meeting your standards.

You allocate moneys, you make the purchase. You study the proper way to plant, fertilize, prune. And then you wait, the whole time maintaining this precious investment.

But the fruit never comes. You harvest disappointment instead.

The analogy breaks down here. God is not subject to emotions as is the frailty of humanity.

But He is interested in fruit. Genuinely interested.

And the bearing of fruit is a bit mysterious to me. It is born as a result of His life flowing through us. It grows, as fruit does, over time.

And yet, somehow, we cooperate. We yield. We give ourselves to His will so that this fruit will be born. We must even suffer death because through death there is life. Death bears fruit - good fruit.

God, speaking to the people of Israel, said, “And so I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.”

Just before that He cursed the fig tree - the tree covered with green, healthy leaves but bearing no fruit. It looked lively, but was not tapping into real purpose.

I don't understand the mystery of bearing life-giving fruit (because fruit harbors the seed for more life within). It is a marvelous mystery, a God-sized wondrous thing. But I do know His purpose for my life is to bring forth fruit to be harvested, to provide nurture, and best of all, to carry life-giving seed to others. 

Lord, may I cooperate; may I yield. May I die to my purposes and live for Yours.