AM I FRUITFUL?
God created us to be fruitful. When God created man He released the blessing of fruitfulness on man. God blessed man and said ‘Be fruitful’ (Genesis 1:28). Be fruitful means grow, don’t remain stagnant, be productive, reproduce, add value, add to what is already in existence, prosper.
Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead not just to take away our sins and iniquities, but to bring us into a life of fruitfulness. Romans 7:4 says ‘Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another – to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.’ God is always on the lookout for those who are producing fruit that delight His heart (Luke 13:6-9). We have no excuse for not being fruitful as richly embedded in our Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God is everything we need to live fruitful lives.
Our lives are like trees that produce fruit. Every one of us actually produces fruit, the question is what kind of fruit are we producing? Luke 6:43- 44 says ‘For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit…’ Praise is a fruit from our lips in the same way gossip is a fruit from our lips. One fruit glorifies God, the other does not bring honour and praise to God. The determining factor in the type and quality of fruit we produce is where we are planted.
Psalm 1:3 tells us of a tree planted by the rivers of water. The tree brings forth fruit in season, her leaf does not wither and whatever she does prospers. It is not the size, colour or age of the tree that makes the tree fruitful, her fruitfulness is a function of where she is planted. If we are planted in the right place; if we are planted by the rivers of water, we will be fruitful and our fruits will glorify God.
In the Bible, rivers of water refer to the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). Water is also symbolic of the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26). Just like plants need water, sunlight, warmth and air to grow, we need the Living Waters of the Holy Spirit and the Water of the Word to flow into us each day for us to grow, for us to live fruitful, meaningful and impactful lives. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God release the life of God into us which keeps our spiritual life, our relationship with God, our health, family, business and finances from withering, from drying up and dying. The Word of God and Holy Spirit open us up to profitable ideas and divine strategies that can make us prosper even in a time of famine or recession. The Holy Spirit fills our lives with the endearing character fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Abiding in Christ is the way to go if we want to live a fruitful, well-spent life that is of great value to God and His Kingdom (John 15:1-16). As we abide in Christ, we experience spiritual and all round growth. There is no way a branch on its own, cut off and separated from the grape tree can produce grapes. There is no way we can bear fruit that last, fruit that impact, fruit that glorify God if we separate ourselves from Christ. If you are joined to Christ, you can be sure that you will be fruitful, you will have results and testimonies to show that Christ lives in you.
May God help us each day to be deliberate about where we are planted. May God help us to be rooted in Christ, firmly planted in the Word of God and in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, so that our lives are fruitful, our fruits glorify God, and whatever we do this year prospers.
Photo Credit: Bruna Branco on Unsplash
