Jesus Christ said in John 15:8(NLT), “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” As God’s children, Jesus makes it clear that we are in the fruit producing business. There can be no doubt in our minds that God requires something of us, and we’re not to take our lives in vain or use our time on earth unwisely. Producing fruit is the outcome. It is the natural progression of God’s offspring to produce, which is to pump His life and love into everything that we touch and influence. Producing fruit is the activity that sustains our vitality. It generates the cycle of life and giving, and it should be as organic to our existence as breathing.
Psalm 1:2-3(NLT) says, “2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” This passage illuminates the Words of our Master Jesus in John 15:8. In a very general sense, we understand that if a tree produces fruit, it is a healthy, flourishing tree. Our Heavenly Father describes the people that delight in His Word and meditate on it continually as trees. He’s painting a wonderful portrait of how He continually blesses us, and how our roots are nurtured by His Word. Whoever focuses on His Word becomes what they’ve focused on. They will bear fruit because doing so is the tangible evidence of a heart and mind that is thriving in God’s promises and statutes.
God has blessed us to overflowing. John 15:8 and Psalm 1:2-3 make it clear that His Will is for us to first receive from Him. Then we are to impart to others out of the overflow of all that He has given to us. Through Jesus Christ, we are God’s trees, and there are no barren trees in His orchard. He has planted us by the riverbank so we can be continually fed by Him. By the water we can be cleansed, nurtured, and our roots are made strong.
God’s trees do not bear fruit all the time, because 1Corinthians 14:33 tells us that He is a God of order. Ecclesiastes 3:1 affirms that God has a season for every activity under heaven, and this is an extremely useful truth to aid our understanding of His order for the entire universe. Everything has a season, and Psalm 1:3 tells us that God’s trees, His people, will bring forth fruit in His perfect timing. This is why we need to cling to God, to seek Him in all things so that we can be guided by Him. We’re not to take matters into our own hands, but to totally yield to the direction of God’s Holy Spirit that abides within His called-out ones. Heavenly Father makes it clear that we have a part to play in His plan, and He has a part to play as well. We can rest assured that even though we do not always do our part, God always does His. We must wait on Him and rest in His care in every situation.
We’ve often heard it said that as ambassadors for Christ in the earth, our job is to get people saved. You and I cannot save anyone. If we could, Jesus Christ would not have needed to come to the earth. God offers us salvation through Jesus Christ. Our responsibility and privilege are to share with others the Word of God that has been so freely shared with us through Jesus Christ. We are to give out the Word, because God’s Word is life to us. It’s the seed that blossoms in our lives.
Living by the power of the Holy Spirit and giving out God’s Word is how we bear fruit. This is our part to play in God’s plan. When we do our part, it’s the Holy Spirit that takes care of the rest. We can and should pray for the salvation of all people, for 1Timothy 2:4 tells us that God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand His Word. But we must be clear that we cannot get people saved. That’s the Holy Spirit’s occupation. We are to pray for people and do our very best to share the truth plainly with them.
Galatians 5:22-23(NLT) tells us, “22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” The Holy Spirit is the One that works within us and produces this kind of fruit. As God’s trees, we outwardly manifest what the Spirit is doing inwardly. We are strong and stable trees with roots anchored deep in our life-Source, Jesus Christ! It’s the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces that draws people to us, and we must try to never forfeit an opportunity to witness the Word of God to them.
Sometimes, in sharing God’s Word and desiring to see people saved, we misunderstand the part that we are to play. We have the distinct pleasure of planting seeds of God’s Word into the minds of individuals that we are led by the Spirit to sow. However, when we misunderstand what we’re commissioned to do, we might try to overwater this seed. This happens if we underestimate the power, plan, and order of our God. There’s no doubt that God is beyond pleased when we share His Word, but we must be ever mindful that He is the Leader, and we’re to follow His lead. He knows when a person can only handle milk, and He knows when they are ready for meat. If we lack the discernment and maturity to understand God’s timing and unction, fear and misunderstanding might come in and choke the seed we’ve planted in a person’s life.
A friend of mine recently came into the faith. He is very much invested, and eager to learn the Word. Seeing his growth and progress is exciting and a blessing to witness. However, to try and teach him in two months what it took me five years to grasp might discourage him from the faith. We wouldn’t expect a first grader to be on the level of earning a master’s degree. Colossians 3:12 tells us to clothe ourselves with God’s tenderhearted mercy, kindness, gentleness, and patience. This is especially required as we share God’s Word with others that do not yet know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
Our relationship with the Father is a walk not a marathon. Again, we should never try to sprint ahead of His guidance in any regard. God is perfect beyond perfection, and He does not make a mistake. His timing is always impeccable, and our responsibility as His sons and daughters is to increase our believing so that it’s equal to the patience and faith that God is requiring. Our time is not to be consumed with wanting and asking for things that do not help us grow and mature in Christ. Our time is to be occupied with praising and worshipping God and building our relationship with Him. It’s to be committed to the mission of Christ, which means we’re to share the Gospel to as many as we are led.
Jesus Christ is the living water, the Word of God in the flesh. Our call is to share the reality of his sacrifice and resurrection with others. He does the rest. We do the planting, and he waters our seed. We should pray continually that God will move in us and that He will move in those we’ve witnessed to. We must be more diligent and watchful to be led by the Spirit and to do as he instructs. More than any other thing, this must be our prime focus. God’s business should always come first with us. When this is our motivation in life, we will produce much fruit for His Kingdom, and He will reward us for our obedience to walk in the example and call of Jesus Christ.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Don’t Over Water Your Fruit”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.