THRIVING AS A FRUITFUL CHRISTIAN
[5 minute read]
We say that man and machines are inseparable but even machines can lose their efficacy over time. We are often updating the operating systems on our devices, sending our cars for scheduled preventive maintenance, and needing to repair or replace household appliances when they fail to operate at their optimum level.
Just like machines, Christians, too, can fail to thrive in their spirit after a while. We may find ourselves constantly striving in survival mode – having all the appearances of a busy life but spiritually languishing inside. Instead of flourishing in the discovery of new strengths and hope through different seasons and leaning on Jesus, the Vine, who sustained us, we pride ourselves in terms of what we had survived – personal or professional setbacks and hardships.
Significantly, there are two things that can rob us of being fruitful.
Firstly, it’s when we focus on self rather than Jesus, and when we want life only on our terms. The enemy of our souls succeeds when he takes our focus off God because it will render us useless and unfruitful as believers. Unaware of his devices, we put up protests that sound so reasonable: Why can’t God give me some space? Don’t fence me in! I will reach out when I need help. We fall into Satan’s guile when our connections with God and His people operate mainly on our terms. We want the benefits, not the responsibility or transparency.
Secondly, we can be overwhelmed and defeated when we focus on the adversities in our lives rather than on the promises of God’s Word. We will find ourselves in sharp disagreement with other believers who deliver Word-based comfort and course correction. We will value solution-based prayers over Scripture-based ones. We want promises that respond to our demands, and reject conversations that challenge us to wait in hope.
So how can we ensure that we will always thrive as fruitful Christians?
Be Ready To Be PRUNED (John 15:1-2)
There’s a danger in associating love with the fulfilment of all self-serving interests and goals because that is essentially self-love. Contrastingly, God’s love is lovingly attuned to our needs and particularly concerned about anything that stifles our ability to grow and be fruitful. For that reason, God doesn’t leave fruitful believers alone but He’s attentive to every aspect of our lives and meticulously prunes us for optimal growth. Nothing skips His attention.
As our divine Gardener, God knows how to prune us and what needs to be pruned - all in our best interest! Instead of kicking up a fuss, we need to dig in our heels and trust that His pruning will never ruin us but frees us to flourish and grow.
In horticulture, it is best practice to cut off overgrowth, as well as any loose, diseased or dead branches that stifle the healthy growth of a plant. For believers, possible hindrances could be a job that sucks the life out of us, rendering us fruitless in all areas of life. It could be a life that’s hijacked by chronic busyness with decreasing satisfaction. Or we could be staying in an ungodly relationship because of the sunken cost fallacy (we have put in too much to let go!) even though the benefits of the relationship are clearly questionable.
Without God’s intervention, such hindrances can cause us to become ‘snuffed out’ and alienated from Him - a hazardous condition for fruitful Christians! On the other hand, the branch that is pruned remains connected to the Vine and gets the essential nourishment and protection to thrive.
Is God the Gardener showing you weeds that are hindering you from being a fruitful Christian today?
Remain Connected in Your Position
To live fruitful lives, our connection to Jesus, the Vine, is everything! It doesn’t matter how successful, well-connected or comfortable our lives are, if we’re not connected to the Vine, we are not adequately resourced for fruitfulness. In fact, our connection to God and to the community of believers is so important that the word ‘remain’ appeared six times in John 15:4-6! To be sure, spiritual maturity and fruitfulness are not qualities that occur naturally because we have been Christians for a long time so we need to be circumspect about other Christians and their roles in our lives. It is easy to be hoodwinked into thinking that we are in a good place when we are in fact disconnected from fruitful and productive fellowship.
Embrace God’s Word And Truth In Your Posture
John 15:7 says, ‘If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.’ Often, this can be mistaken as Christian self-help where God is primarily a service provider. Grab a verse or two and see how it works for me. Skip the hard ones that call for remedial actions, and go for those with softer tones that are more amenable. Who are we kidding!
To be sure, ‘ask whatever you wish’ is not a carte blanche to ask God for a quick-fix for our problems, mistakes or bad decisions. The Word of God does not exonerate us from poor and irresponsible conduct. Correctly, it postulates fruitfulness according to God’s will and plan for our lives. To remain in the Word of God is therefore to let the Word become a spiritual compass for all aspects of our being – our thoughts, emotions, speech and action. Inevitably, whether we are fruitful or not is always observable to others.
Luke 6:43-44 made it clear: “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.”
God the Father is lovingly curating the conditions for your spiritual health and fruitfulness. As you grow, you will become increasingly magnetic to many around you because they will be drawn to your growth and the glow that comes with it!
