On Fruitfulness

Did you know that as individuals and a collective Body of Christ we are meant to be fruitful? I often wonder about that. Sometimes I feel caught up in mundane tasks that demand my attention and it feels like I’m not producing a fruitful lifestyle as defined by scripture. But what does it mean to be fruitful? What kind of fruit is God looking for? How do I know if I am being fruitful for God? And does everybody have the capacity to be fruitful?

In the Book of Galatians, the fruit of the Spirit is identified as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). This type of spiritual fruit is what believers ought to pursue as an end goal when seeking fruitful progress. In contrast, an unbeliever might not concern themselves with this type of discipline and only focus on superficial individual increase. It is here where everybody has an opportunity to be productive, but the type of fruition pursued determines whether the end goal is for the glory of God or for personal gain. Believers and unbelievers strive to succeed during many similar stages in life. The clear difference between the two is that a believer will maintain focus on a greater purpose as revealed by God and a non believer will be focused on a personal agenda. One approach is not necessarily better than the other, but there is a clear distinction between those who want to serve God and those who don’t have an interest in doing so.

The Holy Spirit is decidedly interested in those individuals who are fruitful. In the greater scheme of things, those who are fruitful help bring the kingdom of God to others through their giftings or God ordained talents. The Spirit of God wants the Body of Christ to be active in faith as referenced in James 2:17: “love without works is dead.” If we are to achieve a level of Christ-likeness, it is important that we use our gifts to strengthen the Body of Christ in a way that benefits everybody around us. It is only through active fruitfulness that we plant seeds and grow more fruit. Scripture also says that “good fruit can only come from good fruit” (Luke 6:3). In other words, all we need to concern ourselves with is producing more fruit, because the bible says that it will be ‘good’ indeed!

God is able to open doors and create opportunities for His own. Psalm 92:14 states: “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.” In other words, God will continue to provide until we die. He will maintain our sense of purpose every day of our lives. In other words, God’s people will likely maintain their fruitfulness until the very end! Psalm 125:24 states: “The LORD made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes.” God made us to be fruitful. He did not set up a trust account that we can make monetary withdraws from. God fully expects His own to work, grow and succeed. The fact that, “God made us fruitful” means that we really don’t have an excuse to not produce, because we are made to be that way. God even made us successful against our enemies which can include temptation, distraction or even unmotivation. We are destined to succeed, but to do that we have to take that first step and believe that God has something for us to do. There is something purposeful and meaningful within the Body of Christ assigned to our specific skill-set, talent and/or gifting.

Finallly, our relevant questions are addressed:

What does it mean to be fruitful? I think that being fruitful is any effort to improve and grow within the Body of Christ, consistent with the word of God and toward a godly end.

What kind of fruit is God looking for? God is looking for the type of fruit that helps another to change or grow. More than likely fruit will be shared and planted through the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ as referenced above in Gal. 5:22-23.

How do I know if I am being fruitful for God? God is readily visible in the midst of His own. God’s fruit does not die. It is everlasting. It is pruned and it grows continually and consistently.

Does everybody have the capacity to be fruitful? I believe that we all have the capacity to be fruitful. However, there are some who will be fruitful for Christ and others who will undoubtedly succeed on their own. However, as scripture has stated, our success outside of God is “short lived “ because we “cannot take it with us when we die”; whereas, success in Christ will benefit humanity long after we’re no longer on Earth.

God wants productive believers - GO OUT AND BE FRUITFUL!