Have you ever walked up to a plant and told it to make fruit? Well, neither have I and it sounds crazy. You can’t make a plant produce fruit but you can create an environment that is favorable for producing fruit. Joy is also a fruit, a Fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace ,forbearance,
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
In my search for Joy over the past few weeks it has become abundantly clear that just like I can’t make a plant produce fruit I am also unable to produce Joy in myself. I can fake happiness but that deep Joy is something only God can produce in me. I know in my head that my ultimate reward/Joy is in heaven. This week I’ve been processing my It Is What It Is situation and seeking this Joy. Since I was in the garden with fruit I decided to look at The Vine and the Branches from John 15:1-17 to learn about how God produces fruit.
John 15:1 and 5
“I am the true vine,
and my Father is the gardener.
“I am the vine;
you are the branches.
If you remain in me and I in you,
you will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing.
Here are some of my ahha moments from the week.
The Gardener
What a relief that God is the Gardener! I’m certainly not the best gardener on my own. I used to have a garden, well a weed patch that produced some fruit and certainly not an abundance. To learn from the Gardener I need to be consistent with getting up early to start my day with Him.
Weeding
God doesn’t like weeds. The Gardener weeds or deals with sin.
Nourishing
God was pretty smart with this one. Plants need the Sun to live and the funny thing is His Son Jesus is also the Vine. Vines bring nourishment to the branches (you and me). I can get nourishment aka what I need by spending time with the Gardener and staying connected to the Son (sun). This connectedness has been missing in my days. I keep reminding myself to trust God throughout my day, not just right in the morning.
Pollinating
The last part to hit me this week was about pollinating. To actually get fruit a plant needs pollination. Pollination happens when we are around other plants/people who know Jesus. As an introvert I get peopled out. I long for solitude but too much solitude has me missing out on this pollination: opportunities to bear much fruit and to be part of others bearing fruit.
Take some time to spend with the Gardener reading John 15:1-17. Do a little weeding, then get your nourishment from the Vine throughout the day and undergo some pollination by spending time this week with other people who know Jesus.