“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.” — John 15:15
Spiritual Fruit
Some athletes and coaches leave a lasting legacy by reproducing themselves in others — like seeds that turn into plants, which reproduce into orchards over large acreage and are shipped out worldwide. Strawberries in the spring taste good right off the vine or in a dessert. During the summer, blueberry bushes produce much fruit. Cantaloupes and watermelons are enjoyed by many. Azaleas and other flowering plants give beauty to communities as we see the pink and purple varieties shining in the sunlight.
But before we taste fruit or enjoy the scenery of flowers, we see the yellow pollen on our front porch and on the hoods of our cars. Our eyes itch, our throat is sore and we sneeze or get a stuffy nose. Often, we gripe about our allergies, but we forget how important the pollination process is for reproducing flowers and trees. If we didn’t have pollen, we wouldn’t have vegetables, fruit, grass, wood or paper.
As fruit from the ground is essential, God also wants us to produce spiritual fruit. As plants rely on a strong root system, we need to be rooted and grounded in Christ. As plants need bees and butterflies to pollinate them, we need the Lord’s impact on our life to be what we ought to be. Jesus said, “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” (John 15:5).
When Christ enters our life through the Holy Spirit, we are capable of loving our enemies and controlling our tempers. We still need daily prayer, like daily sunshine to grow an abundant spiritual harvest, but everything is now at our fingertips. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Ga.
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