From Terri Muendel

You WILL Produce Fruit

GROWING WHILE KNOWING GOD BETTER AND BETTER

I do NOT have a green thumb. My mum is amazing at propagating and growing plants, veggies, trees and flowers. Every spring, her yard comes to life – full of colour and flowers of all shapes and sizes. My yard, on the other hand, has a number of very sad, neglected and – let’s be honest – dead plants. The ones that have survived have done it by sheer willpower (their own) and hardiness. I do remember one time, though, a couple of years ago, I grew a mango tree from a seed! I was so proud of that little guy! I remembered to water it and nurture it, and after a year, it gave me two tiny but delicious mangos! I was amazed! All I had done was give the tree a bit of water, put it in a good spot and – voila! Fruit grew!

In Paul’s letter to the church in Colosse, he tells a similar story of what happens with us when we focus on growing in our relationship with God.

“Then the way you live will always honour and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better” Colossians 1:10, NLT).

As we “learn to know God better and better”, the Bible says we WILL bear fruit. It will be a natural byproduct of our relationship with him. As we get to know him, we will become more like him (because we become like the people we spend time with), and we will not have to strive and strain and force fruit to grow in our lives. It will just appear, naturally and with time. God, through his Holy Spirit, is the one who does the work in us to make us more like him. There are a number of verses in Scripture that talk about God being like a gardener (John 15:1-2, Isaiah 5:1-7 and Isaiah 58:11) who carefully tends his people and provides for their needs.

He will make us like a well-watered garden, and he will prune us where needed. I can tend toward perfectionism in some areas of my life, and I get frustrated with myself when I haven’t nailed something yet, or when I’m impatient or grumpy. “Why am I still getting this wrong, God?” I ask him. But this Scripture is a promise to me – it tells me that my focus needs to be on getting to know God, and he will take care of the rest. God doesn’t want us to strive and struggle to be better or do better. He wants us to rest in the fact that he is caring for us and pruning us into the shape and likeness of him.

Dallas Willard was once asked to describe Jesus in one Word. His answer was “relaxed”. I like that. Jesus trusted his Father to care for him, to bring about all of his plans for him. He could relax knowing that his Father, the Gardener, was doing a good job. Let’s focus on getting to know God better and let him worry about the fruit. I promise, you’ll start seeing all sorts of fruit in your life.

Reflection

• Is there an area of your life you are struggling to relax and trust God with at the moment?
• As you have grown closer to God this year, where have you seen fruit in your life?

Prayer

Dear Father, Thank you for seeing my past, my present and my fruitful future. Help me to trust you and to remember that in knowing you, I will produce fruit naturally and become more like you. Help me to get into your Word and to listen for your voice as you prune and shape me. Thank you for your grace and patience in every season. In Jesus’ name, Amen.