Jesus Fruit: Having It All - Galatians 5:22-26 (Wednesday Night Reflection)
We are on the thresholds of summer and
one thing that stands out during summer when it comes to eating…besides fresh
seafood, of course, are fresh fruits and vegetables. Growing up, for me, it was always about the
fruit, because I could have cared less about the vegetables. So last night I posed the question to my
friends on Facebook, challenging them to tell me their favorite fruit, and gave
12 ½ hours for responses. Folks were
ready, willing, and able to share their favorite fruit, because in sharp contrast
to many other surveys I have done, I received 124 valid responses (not
including the invalid responses of hen fruit, chocolate, and bacon). I also overlooked the fruit/vegetable debate
about watermelon, tomatoes, and my vote, jalapeno. Out of those 124 votes, 27 different fruits
were named (I did not differentiate between types of grapes or apples, because
some folks were very specific). While
there were a large number of fruits that only received one vote, there were
only four “fruits” that hit double digits.
In reverse order, with twelve votes, apples; with fourteen votes,
pineapples; with sixteen votes, the controversial watermelon; and finally, the
number one favorite fruit, with 21 votes, 17% of the folks love strawberries
the most.
Summertime is not the real reason we are
talking about fruit tonight. The real
reason is because the end of our last sermon series we heard Jesus say, “I am
the Vine, you are the branches. Those
who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit…my Father is glorified by this,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples…You did not choose me, but I
chose you. And I appointed you to go and
bear fruit, fruit that will last…”[i] So what is this fruit that Jesus is talking
about? What kind of fruit should we be
bearing?
I’ll be honest with you, for a great
part of the last 22 years of ministry I just assumed that this fruit had to do
with numbers. The fruit that we are
looking for is reflected in the number of folks in worship, the number of folks
in Sunday school, the number of folks in Bible Study, and above all else, the
number of new professions of faith and baptisms. If I were a gambling man, I would wager that
is what most folks think of…and I have heard it emphasized that way. I have heard the argument that one of the
reasons we have to be attentive to those numbers is that we are supposed to be
bearing fruit…churches that aren’t readily adding to their numbers are not
bearing fruit.
I began moving away from that idea years
ago (though I still have to report the numbers), because I realize that we are
not the ones who add the numbers, we are just called to be faithful, and if we
are faithful, God will take care of the numbers…He has since the birth of the
Church: “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke
bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God
and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to
their number those who were being saved.”[ii]
So, if numbers aren’t what “bearing
fruit” is all about, what is the fruit that Jesus is talking of? Well, think about it. If I went to a grape vine, I would be after
what? Grapes. If I went to a blueberry
bush, would I be looking for trout? No,
I’d be gathering blueberries. If I were
to go to an apple tree, would I be looking for crab? Of course not, I would be looking to find
apples. I would argue that if Jesus is
the vine, and we are the branches on that vine, then the fruit that Jesus is
looking for, the fruit that we are supposed to be bearing, is Jesus Fruit.
Jesus Fruit? What is Jesus Fruit? Where do we find Jesus Fruit in the
Bible? I can hear someone now, “There’s
no such thing as Jesus Fruit…it is not in the Bible anywhere…I’ve read through
the Bible ten times and never read anything about Jesus Fruit.”
Well, the truth of the matter is that if
we have read through the Bible ten times then we have read about Jesus Fruit at
least ten times, if not more.
Where? Well, one of the places
was in our reading tonight: “…the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
“Wait a minute, Preacher, you said
“Jesus Fruit.” That doesn’t say “Jesus
Fruit” that says “the fruit of the Spirit.”
Well, consider this, what Spirit is Paul talking about? The Holy Spirit. And who’s spirit is the Holy Spirit? God’s.
And who is God? The Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. Who is the Son? Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ Spirit…the Fruit of the Spirit is therefore
the fruit of Jesus…the fruit of the Spirit is Jesus Fruit. If we are connected to The Vine, who is
Jesus, then we will bear Jesus Fruit…and Jesus Fruit is: love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
This actually brings us to another
learning point for me that came out of my devotional time and Bible Studies within
the last couple of years. I had always
heard about the fruit of the Spirit…I’d even preached about the fruit of the
Spirit…and I’d figured out what fruit of the Spirit that I was good at
bearing. I decided the fruit I bear is
love, kindness, and gentleness, and that is pretty much good enough. I mean don’t you think so…three out of
nine…that’s a third of the different fruits of the Spirit. Didn’t Paul say that not everyone gets every
gift, but that God allots to each person what they need to contribute to the
Body of Christ, the Church, as a whole?
Yes…we get the whole “if the whole body were an eye” or “if the whole
body were hearing” imagery from 1st Corinthians. However, Spiritual Gifts and the Fruit of the
Spirit are not synonymous…they are two different things. Spiritual gifts vary from person to
person…Spiritual Fruit does not.
Where I was challenged with this
realization was the challenge to go back and read the passage…not just base it
on what I always heard or always thought.
When we go back and look at the two verses, and pay attention to the
grammar that Paul used, we find that the fruit of the Spirit, or Jesus Fruit,
is all-inclusive. Paul does not say,
“the fruits of the Spirit are” or even “the fruit of the Spirit are,” Paul
writes, “The fruit of the Spirit IS…” The Fruit of the Spirit, Jesus Fruit, IS
“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control.”
What difference does that make? It makes a world of difference, we can be the
most loving person and if we act out of control then we are not bearing Jesus
Fruit. We can be full of joy, but if we
are tightfisted and greedy, then we are not bearing the Fruit of the Spirit. If we feel like we have found peace, but that
peace is the result of fear and hostility, then we aren’t don’t have Jesus
Fruit hanging from us. If we are truly
connected to The Vine, truly connected to Jesus, truly in tune with the
nourishment that the Spirit is pouring into us, then we will bear Jesus
Fruit! If we are truly connected to The
Vine and bearing Jesus Fruit then we will look more like a Fruit Salad that a
basket of apples.
If we are connected to the Vine, we will
love.
If we are connected to the Vine, we will
have joy.
If we are connected to the Vine, we will
find peace.
If we are connected to the Vine, we will
have patience.
If we are connected to the Vine, we will
show kindness.
If we are connected to the Vine, we will
be generous.
If we are connected to the Vine, we will
be faithful.
If we are connected to the Vine, we will
be gentle.
If we are connected to the Vine, we will
have self-control.
Are we not there yet? Most of us are not. We are trying…we are striving…. We have to remember that we don’t plant an
apple tree and expect a harvest of apples the same year…Jesus has planted His
Spirit within us…and as time goes on, as long as we make sure that we are
seeking nourishment through worship, through study, through prayer, through
fellowship, and through service, then we will continue to grow into the Jesus
Fruit Bearing Branches we were meant to be…and to help us as we strive, over
the summer we will look deeper into each aspect of this Jesus Fruit we are
supposed to bear, beginning next week with the foundation of it all…Love…
In the Name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit…Amen.
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