Pastor's Thoughts
A Fruitful Summer
Posted: May 29, 2009
"I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:5
Summer will soon be in full swing. The weather is getting warmer. The crops are being sown. The fruit trees have budded and soon will bear much fruit. What are you looking forward to the most this summer? What are your plans? Where will you go? What will you do? Here is my encouragement: Throughout this summer walk closely attached to your Savior Jesus Christ and bear for him much fruit.
Summer will soon be in full swing. The weather is getting warmer. The crops are being sown. The fruit trees have budded and soon will bear much fruit. What are you looking forward to the most this summer? What are your plans? Where will you go? What will you do? Here is my encouragement: Throughout this summer walk closely attached to your Savior Jesus Christ and bear for him much fruit.
Scripture suggests the following fruit-bearing possibilities:
(1) Bad fruit. Jesus says, "A bad tree bears bad fruit" (Matthew 7:17). Backbiting, badmouthing, and gossip all evidence bad fruit in a life. May these fruits of the sinful nature be absent from your life this summer. May bitterness not qualify as the sour grapes being produced by you.
(2) No fruit. Jesus says, "He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit" (John 15:2). If bad fruit represents sins of commission, no fruit describes sins of omission - a lack of love, joy, peace and the other fruits of the Spirit. May your life this summer not cause those who know you to wonder whether or not you are a Christian. Remember: faith without fruit is a dead and lifeless faith.
(3) Little fruit. "Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful" (John 15:2). Sometimes unnecessary leaves and shoots drain off nourishment needed to produce fruit. The result - little fruit in both quantity and quality. We are bogged down by the world and its cares. Don’t let the summer make you indifferent to your Savior - to hearing his word, to singing his praises, to living your life to his honor and glory.
(4) Good fruit. "If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit" (John 15:5). The godly person is like a tree "which yields its fruit in season" (Psalm 1:3). The fruits of the Spirit are evident, the kind way they talk, the concern they have for others, the love they have for God and his Word, the time they spend in prayer, their willingness to share Jesus with others. What a beautiful thing it is to come in contact with a fruitful Christian. It is like a beautiful summer day with the sun shining brightly, the sky a bright blue, and the temperatures not too hot or too cold but just right.
So how can I have a fruitful summer? How can I bear much good fruit? Simply Jesus says, "I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Jesus chose us. He died on the cross for us. He grafted us into himself. His life flows through us as we feed on his Word, so that we bear much fruit. Keep Jesus close by your side throughout the summer. The fruit will follow. The hymnist put it this way:
Amid the world’s bleak wilderness A vineyard grows with promise green.
The planting of the Lord himself. His love selected this terrain;
His vine with love he planted here To bear the choicest fruit for him.
From him we draw the juice of life, For him supply the winery
With fruit from which true joys derive. (CW342)
(1) Bad fruit. Jesus says, "A bad tree bears bad fruit" (Matthew 7:17). Backbiting, badmouthing, and gossip all evidence bad fruit in a life. May these fruits of the sinful nature be absent from your life this summer. May bitterness not qualify as the sour grapes being produced by you.
(2) No fruit. Jesus says, "He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit" (John 15:2). If bad fruit represents sins of commission, no fruit describes sins of omission - a lack of love, joy, peace and the other fruits of the Spirit. May your life this summer not cause those who know you to wonder whether or not you are a Christian. Remember: faith without fruit is a dead and lifeless faith.
(3) Little fruit. "Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful" (John 15:2). Sometimes unnecessary leaves and shoots drain off nourishment needed to produce fruit. The result - little fruit in both quantity and quality. We are bogged down by the world and its cares. Don’t let the summer make you indifferent to your Savior - to hearing his word, to singing his praises, to living your life to his honor and glory.
(4) Good fruit. "If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit" (John 15:5). The godly person is like a tree "which yields its fruit in season" (Psalm 1:3). The fruits of the Spirit are evident, the kind way they talk, the concern they have for others, the love they have for God and his Word, the time they spend in prayer, their willingness to share Jesus with others. What a beautiful thing it is to come in contact with a fruitful Christian. It is like a beautiful summer day with the sun shining brightly, the sky a bright blue, and the temperatures not too hot or too cold but just right.
So how can I have a fruitful summer? How can I bear much good fruit? Simply Jesus says, "I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Jesus chose us. He died on the cross for us. He grafted us into himself. His life flows through us as we feed on his Word, so that we bear much fruit. Keep Jesus close by your side throughout the summer. The fruit will follow. The hymnist put it this way:
Amid the world’s bleak wilderness A vineyard grows with promise green.
The planting of the Lord himself. His love selected this terrain;
His vine with love he planted here To bear the choicest fruit for him.
From him we draw the juice of life, For him supply the winery
With fruit from which true joys derive. (CW342)