Wednesday, Oct. 9

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And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears let him hear.”
  - Matthew 13:8-9

Yesterday we saw that the only thing that distinguishes “good soil” from all of the other soils is the fact that it yields fruit.  Fruitfulness is the distinguishing characteristic of the genuine believer.  Notice that Jesus does not say that the good soil is perfect, He never says it has no weeds or rocks, or problems, He simply says that it bears fruit. 

So, if Jesus clearly wants us to be “good soil” as His followers, and if fruitfulness is the distinguishing mark of good soil, then let’s ask the question - what can we do to produce more fruit in our lives?

The answer is - Nothing!

You cannot do anything to produce more fruit in your own life, that is God’s job!
Jesus makes this abundantly clear in John’s gospel, where He says;  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5).

This is one of the things that can really trip us up in the Christian life, we think we are responsible for producing spiritual fruit in our lives, but we are not - God is!  This is not to say that we have no role to play at all in our own spiritual growth and fruitfulness, we do.  However, we must always remember that we are not the source or the power behind it - Jesus is!

Simply put, we are not in the production or manufacturing business, we are in the distribution business!  God works in us to produce the fruit of His Spirit, our job is to let his work be seen and to share it with others.  Notice in John 15 that Jesus says we are the branches, and the job of the branch is to “bear” fruit.  Bearing is not the same thing as producing.  The Vine (Jesus) is the fruit producer, we are simply the fruit bearers.  What does it mean to bear fruit?  Well, just as fruit hangs on the branch for all to see, so too we let the work of Christ in us show through for all to see.  

This distinction between fruit bearing and fruit producing is absolutely crucial to the Christian life.  If we get this wrong, if we start to think that it is entirely up to us to make ourselves into spiritually fruitful people, then the Christian life can become a very heavy burden.  Think about this for just a moment...have you ever tried, by sheer force of your own will and effort, to make yourself be more patient?  It doesn’t work does it?  You may be able to hold back from acting impatient or from saying impatient things, but does that mean that you have truly become a patient person in your heart?  No, it doesn’t.  This is the difference between behavior modification, and genuine spiritual transformation (fruit).  God’s agenda is not simply to modify your behavior, but to transform you completely into the likeness of His Son!  

When you accept the fact that you are not a fruit producer, but only a fruit bearer and a fruit distributor, then you will discover that a whole new kind of freedom and joy open up to you as you allow god to do His transforming work in you!

Jeff Frazier