Producing Fruit

That's my daughter, Jordan, on the right, standing next to a trunk full of grapefruit we had picked from the trees behind my mother's house in Sun City West, Arizona, in mid-March. Maybe 200+ pounds of grapefruit that we brought to the local food bank in Surprise. There were 5-6 bins like the one on the right, filled with grapefruit, oranges and other kinds of tree-fruit.

Jordan's smile and T-shirt are sending a mixed message--don't you think? But it's hard to frown when it's in the 80s and you've just flown from northern Indiana at a time when the temperature is in the 30s. Trading snow for sand, bare-branched trees for cacti.

My mother's two trees produced a banner crop this spring. Might have had something to do with the box of fertilizer I sprinkled under each tree a year ago! And to think that I spread another box under each tree this year. We'll have to make two trips to the food bank next spring.

Jesus spoke about being a fruit-producer. He said that you can tell the nature and health of a tree by the fruit it produces. Of course, Jesus wasn't just talking about fruit. He was making the point that who we are on the inside is going to be revealed by the "fruit" we produce on the outside. That fruit will include the nature of our relationships, our deeds and the motives that drive them, and the "aroma" we leave behind us, both while living and after we have drawn our last breath.

In the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7), Jesus threw out a lot of clues about what it means to be a fruit producer in His kingdom. He talked about forgiveness, being blessed even when we don't think we are, judging others, holding grudges, loving others, being in the center of God's will, and much more.

The important thing for me is this: that these "marks" of kingdom-living reveal the whole "what it's all about" of Christianity. If Christianity is all about following Jesus, then we, as His disciples, ought to be leaving a wake that looks a lot like His. After encountering us, others should say they have rubbed up against someone who has "the eternal kind of life" (Jn. 3:16). The glow of glory ought to warm their face and gladden their heart. The glimpse of the holy in us should create, at the least, a mini-defining moment for them, a decision-point where they know that the "more" of being a human being goes beyond good and all the way to holy.

Whew! Who knew so much was going on?! Who knew so much was at stake?

All this from grapefuit in Arizona?

Yes, as followers of Jesus we live with joy-filled smiles on our faces while living in a "Bah humbug" world. All because of the "life of the Eternal" who lives in us, making all of the difference.

By the way, the grapefruit was delicious!