Colossians 1:10 “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of Godâ€
Don’t you just love to see an apple tree filled with beautiful ripe apples? How about a strawberry plant with red ripe strawberries. We expect trees to bear fruit and flowers to bear flowers. That is what they were created for. Sometimes plants don’t bear any fruit. Then they get purged (cut back) to make room for new fruit. Sometimes with all the cultivating, pruning and soil enrichment, they still do not bear fruit. Many times the tree or plant gets cut down or plowed under. Their purpose is to bear fruit and when that does not take place; the only alternative is to destroy the tree or plant.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 15, Jesus says the branch needs purging so it will bear more fruit. He also says if the branch does not bear fruit, it is then taken away. God needs to purge and prune so we will bear more fruit for His glory. Sometimes purging hurts a lot but it yields more fruit.
Remember the parable of the sower and the seed in Matthew 13. The sower sowed seed on all kinds of ground such as, stony ground, thorny ground, good ground and by the wayside. The only ground that produced fruit was the good ground but it was a hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold. If it was all good ground, why the different percentage of fruitfulness? Is this the growth stages of our Christian lives? Are some at thirtyfold, some at sixtyfold and then those who are a hundredfold? As we grow spiritually to Jesus more and follow Him, will our lives begin to produce more fruit? Where are we in our fruit-bearing?
The fruit that is produced in us is the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.â€Â May our lives bear a hundredfold fruit today and everyday for Jesus. Let’s let the Holy Spirit purge us when necessary so that we will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in and through us. Much needed spiritual vitamin.