Go, and Bear Fruit (Part 1)

The Prompt

Last week, during the gathering of my local church small group, we engaged one another in a lively discussion of fruit. “What is that stuff?” The discussion was prompted by Paul’s description of his constant prayers for the believers in Colossae.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
– Colossians 1:9-10:29, ESV

Note the emphasis on spiritual wisdom and understanding in verse nine, and then again, the increasing knowledge of God in verse ten. Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are active contributors to our ability to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him, and to bear fruit in every good work. But what is “fruit?”

Character

Jesus spoke of fruit and not always with a positive tone.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
– Matthew 7:15-20, ESV

Jesus is discussing people, but using plant life to do so. We have reasonable expectations of plant life, and Jesus is saying we can have equally reasonable expectations of people. I don’t expect to find apples on our dahlias, but I do expect to find them on apple trees. Sometimes a tree will look like an apple tree but it will produce nasty tasting fruit. We don’t expect that. Sometimes a man or woman appears to be godly, but inside, they are fierce, manipulative, and narcissistic.

Bad Fruit

Observe that it is not the thorn or thistle that is cut down and thrown into the fire. No, it is the tree, the one that should be bearing good fruit but that is failing to do so. The tree is not behaving as we expect it to behave. We don’t expect apples from thorns, so we ignore them. We do, however, expect apples from apple trees, and when the apple tree is not producing apples, it is taking up space in our orchard, and sucking nutrition from the soil.

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
– Galatians 5:19-21, ESV

Several years ago, Alean and I made a day trip to Drayton Harbor in Blaine, Washington. On our way out of the harbor, after spending much of the afternoon taking in the beautiful scenery, we stopped by a public restroom to prepare for the drive home. While there, Alean saw some pretty, wild daisies and gathered a small batch of them for a bouquet. Shortly after continuing our drive home, we both noted a horrific strong odor of dog manure and quickly determined that one of us has stepped in some while at the restroom. We stopped, exited the car, and thoroughly examined our footwear. We were both clean.

Having returned to the car, the odor persisted, and it was intense. There was no doubt in our minds that we had dog manure somewhere in our car. But no…it was the daisies. Just as not all godly looking people are godly, not all daisies are beautiful and pleasant smelling. We had Shasta Daisies in the car, and Shasta Daisies, though they look as beautiful as standard daisies, emit a strong, foul odor. Sadly, we had to toss them to the side of the road.

We cannot always rely on appearances or claims. We must examine the fruit. Some people, though they make claims of godliness, emit a foul odor.

Good Fruit

But the healthy tree produces good fruit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
– Galatians 5:22-23, ESV

I have heard it said that anything taken to excess can become a bad thing, but this is demonstrably untrue. Drawing from the list above, we can be as kind and as self-controlled as possible, and that will be a good thing. There is no law against being loving, joyful, and patient. We can spread peace in excess around our neighborhoods and it will not be a bad thing.

Note, also, that this is the fruit (singular) of the Spirit, not fruits. It is one attribute, one fruit, the fruit. This is not a fruit pick-list.

Jesus drove the good fruit principle home in his discourse on the vine and the branches. You’ll find that in John 15:1-15. I won’t post the entire text here, but encourage you to pause here and read it for yourselves. Here are the highlights as they pertain to this blog posting:

• Jesus is the true vine and his Father is the vinedresser.
• Non-fruit-bearing branches are “taken away.”
• Fruit-bearing branches are pruned, so they will bear even more fruit.
• The branches (us) cannot bear fruit apart from the vine (Jesus).
• We “abide in” Jesus and, in doing so, bear much fruit.
• If the branches do not abide in the vine, they (branches, not thistles) are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
• If we abide in Christ, we may ask and expect to receive.
• The Father is glorified in our fruit-bearing.
• Bearing fruit proves we are Christ’s disciples.
• Jesus appointed us, that we should go and bear fruit, and that our fruit should remain.

Eight times in fifteen verses, Jesus speaks of our fruit. He speaks both promises and warnings with regard to our fruit, demonstrating the exceeding importance he places on this truth.

Let this be on your hearts and minds this week. Look at your fruit. Meditate on it. Is it good fruit, or bad fruit? We will look at this from a different perspective next week.

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
– John 15:8, ESV

Blessings upon you, my friends.

Victoriously in Christ!

– damon

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