FAITHFUL & FRUITFUL

                With the promise of spring, I have been thinking ahead to warmer weather and outdoor activities. Soon the snow will be gone and the grass will turn green again. Trees and flowers will begin to bloom. Already, I have seen the activity of the birds and heard they spring songs. There is a growing anticipation of new life.

                I recently preached a message on John 15, where Jesus made that statement, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” As I was studying, I came across some information about the care of apple trees. I happen to have two apple trees in my yard. Last year, one of them produced a bumper crop of apples. As I read the article about the care of apple trees, I realized that I need to get busy to prepare my trees now, so they can be fruitful this fall. I need to prune my trees, so that more of their energy goes into bearing fruit and less into branches and leaves. I also need to protect my trees from insects that can damage the apples. If I am not faithful, my trees will be fruitful, but the fruit will be bad.

                In my devotions today, I read Marks’s account of the parable of the sower. It is found in Mark 4:3-8."Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

                There is much that could be said about this parable. What caught my eye was the third clause. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. This brought me back to the idea that as a believer in Christ, I am responsible to be both faithful and fruitful. In one sense, I can be faithful, casting my seed generously about, but be unfruitful. If I am not careful about how and where I cast my seed, it may produce little or nothing. Unless the soil is carefully prepared, the seed will fail. I know this first hand from trying to grow grass in my lawn. Just scattering seed, without removing the weeds and adding topsoil to the clay, is not productive.

                I was also struck by the reality that I might be very fruitful, but be producing the wrong kind of fruit. If I neglect my apple trees, they will produce fruit, but it will be of poor quality. If I neglect my front lawn, it will be very fruitful; it will be covered in yellow dandelions. If I neglect the spiritual soil of my life, my fruit will be superficial at best.

                Sometimes, as church leaders, we put so much focus on being fruitful, that we fail to evaluate the quality of our fruit. I remember hearing about a church, many years ago, that set a goal of having the largest Sunday School attendance in the country. So on the appointed day, the pastor stood on the roof of the church and dropped coins for the children to claim. They met their goal, but what kind of fruit did they produce? We often invest in programs and gimmicks that promise to increase our attendance, but do little to produce quality fruit.

                When it comes to producing good fruit, we need to be both faithful and fruitful. In order to produce the best grapes, a vinedresser must cut away 2/3 of the blossoms. In order to produce good apples, a person has to prune away much of the growth of the tree. As followers of Christ, we need to focus on producing the best fruit that we can, not just as much fruit as we can. When we are both faithful and fruitful, we will produce fruit that is of good quality and that will last.