Living a Fruitful Life

"A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' " 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'" (Luke 13:6-9)

If you had an apple tree in your backyard that did not bear any fruit, it wouldn’t be any good for anything, expect maybe some shade. It is using up space and nutrients. If you really wanted to be able to walk into your backyard to pick a delicious apple then you would need to cut down that old tree and plant a new one.

Jesus told a story about a man who planted a fig tree in his garden. After some time had passed, he went to look for some fruit on the tree, but there was none. Year after year he watched the tree, but the tree never produced any fruit. Finally, the man went to the gardener who took care of the tree and said to him, "For three years I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! It is just taking up space in the garden."

The gardener answered, "Please, sir, give it one more chance. Leave it for another year. I will give it special attention. I will dig around the tree and give it plenty of fertilizer. If the tree produces fruit next year, great, if not, then you can cut it down."

In telling this story, Jesus was really talking about us and about God. God has "planted" us here on this earth and he expects us to produce good fruit in our life. Sometimes we Christians get the idea that as long as we have faith in Jesus as our Savior that is enough. It is enough to get us into heaven. It is not enough for our life here on earth, though. Faith without works is useless. (James 2:20) God has placed us into the garden of this earth to bear fruits of faith in order to show people who we are and to do praise God with our good fruit.

What kind of fruit does God expect? When He looks at the way we live our life, He wants to see things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness. (Galatians 3:22,23) There are times when He is disappointed in what He sees, but He is willing to give us another chance.
What can we do to help us produce the kind of fruit that God expects? We can worship regularly, read God's Word, and pray. Everything we do as a Christian out of faith in God is a fruit of faith. In our children’s devotion at Epiphany on Sunday, the young children gave great examples of fruits of faith. They said to read the Bible every day; to become a pastor to teach others God’s Word; wash dishes when it is your sister’s turn; take out the garbage when your dad wants you to; take care of your sick grandpa; do your homework; etc.

On Sunday morning, during our early service children’s devotion, one of our members collapsed in the aisle. We had members rushing to his aid giving CPR, calling 911, and waiting for the ambulance. I visited our member in the hospital and he is fine. He said his chest was a bit sore from our member pounding on it getting his heart going again.

In my devotion at the hospital with our member, I was struck by how God had given a visible, tangible example right in our worship service of Christians bearing forth the fruits of faith. Rushing to the aid of a fallen saint; not thinking of self but only of others; extending the life of a child of God all to God’s praise and glory!