Skip to main content

A life more fruitful


Mark Twain said that the human race had one really 'effective' weapon - laughter. I think our most effective weapon is not really laughter as much as it is the Word of God. Laughter might give us a momentary release - the Word of God and what it can accomplish within us is lasting and sure. Have you ever been reading through scripture only to find something within the passage 'calls out' some behavior you have been struggling with, or reveals some answer to a worry you have been mulling over? The purpose of the Word of God is to teach us - to make us wise. We are able to discern direction once hidden from us because of the work of the Spirit of God within us and the revelation of the Word of God to us. If we want more than an 'immediate release', we need to take in what can give us a permanent and secure hope.

If you rebuke a mocker, you will only get a smart retort; yes, he will snarl at you. So don’t bother with him; he will only hate you for trying to help him. But a wise man, when rebuked, will love you all the more. Teach a wise man, and he will be the wiser; teach a good man, and he will learn more. For the reverence and fear of God are basic to all wisdom. Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding. “I, Wisdom, will make the hours of your day more profitable and the years of your life more fruitful.” Wisdom is its own reward, and if you scorn her, you hurt only yourself. (Proverbs 9:8-12)

Who among us doesn't want a more fruitful life? If we embrace God's wisdom - the holy scriptures - we are bound to see fruit. Why? The seed of truth isn't just casually cast into our lives - it is purposefully placed. Teach a wise man and he will be wiser - because the seed is taken in, then it is turned over in the fertile soil of his heart and nurtured there by the Spirit of God until it takes root. When good seed takes root, fruit is bound to come forth. Knowing God results in every kind of understanding - even though we are unlearned in so many ways, God's Spirit can give us wisdom far beyond our years or education. 

Wisdom adds years to our lives - years that become more settled and certain as we allow God to impart his wisdom within. We could go through life on our own, but the wise man or woman will embrace all the help to sort out life's woes and worries as much as possible. Why? They have learned trusting in one's own ability to consistently produce the best outcomes (fruit) is pretty close to impossible. Good men exist, but any goodness that is 'self-made' is still flawed goodness. There is but one 'goodness' that is perfect - Christ's. There is but one source of true goodness of heart, mind, and spirit - to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ with all we have within us. 

Seeds will be planted today. They can be seeds of goodness and grace, springing forth in season in an even bigger harvest of that which reveals the goodness and grace of God within. They can be seeds of self-seeking, pride, or mistrust - all producing a harvest, but not always a good one that is 'unmixed' with the tares of this world. God's Word isn't to be trifled with - it is the source of much life and goodness. Take it in - trust it to accomplish its work. That work may be correction - reminding us of choices that have not been all that wise. It may be confirmation - allowing us to feel at peace with decisions we are about to make. How is that? The Word of God is purposeful - it is focused on the harvest that is about to be produced by being introduced to the soil of our hearts and minds. A ready heart and an open mind go a long way in providing soil that is fertile for fruitful growth. Just sayin!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What did obedience cost Mary and Joseph?

As we have looked at the birth of Christ, we have considered the fact he was born of a virgin, with an earthly father so willing to honor God with his life that he married a woman who was already pregnant.  In that day and time, a very taboo thing.  We also saw how the mother of Christ was chosen by God and given the dramatic news that she would carry the Son of God.  Imagine her awe, but also see her tremendous amount of fear as she would have received this announcement, knowing all she knew about the time in which she lived about how a woman out of wedlock showing up pregnant would be treated.  We also explored the lowly birth of Jesus in a stable of sorts, surrounded by animals, visited by shepherds, and then honored by magi from afar.  The announcement of his birth was by angels - start to finish.  Mary heard from an angel (a messenger from God), while Joseph was set at ease by a messenger from God on another occasion - assuring him the thing he was about to do in marrying Mary wa

A brilliant display indeed

Love from the center of who you are ; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply ; practice playing second fiddle. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. (Romans 12:9-12) Integrity and Intensity don't seem to fit together all that well, but they are uniquely interwoven traits which actually complement each other. "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it." God asks for us to have some intensity (fervor) in how we love (from the center of who we are), but he also expects us to have integrity in our love as he asks us to be real in our love (don't fake it). They are indeed integral to each other. At first, we may only think of integrity as honesty - some adherence to a moral code within. I believe there is a little more to integrity than meets the eye. In the most literal sense,

Do me a favor

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Philippians 2:1-4) Has God's love made ANY difference in your life? What is that difference? Most of us will likely say that our lives were changed for the good, while others will say there was a dramatic change. Some left behind lifestyles marked by all manner of outward sin - like drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, or even thievery. There are many that will admit the things they left behind were just a bit subtler - what we can call inward sin - things like jealousy,