JOHN 15:7-8 – If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE FRUIT-BEARING LIFE. This true story I am about to share happened while I was in the Navy serving onboard a destroyer. We did not have a chaplain so I assumed the role as Protestant Lay Leader in charge of all Protestant worship services and ministries on the ship. There were a lot of opportunities. In the course of conducting weekly services and Bibles studies, a young sailor started to attend. He was zealous, great personality, talented, and wanted to be used of the Lord. He never hesitated to verbally contribute in the Bible studies. And with all the spiritual good I saw in him, I also recognized spiritual immaturity. As is the case with a lot of zealous Christians, spiritual immaturity is not recognized and actually the belief of the opposite is embraced. Well, my young brother in the Lord approached me with the words, “I would really like to preach at the next service and start leading the Bible study. God has gifted me with the preaching and teaching gifts and I want to use them here.” I confess, I get a little “spiritual antsy” when someone starts talking about their gifts, how God uses them, and the attention is noticeably focused on themselves. When I encounter Christians who are centered on themselves in regards to service and ministry, I think of what John the Baptist said, “He (the Lord Jesus) must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30). One mark of spiritual maturity is attention AWAY from oneself, not UPON oneself. What I saw in this young Christian was spiritual pride and deception, but I wanted to help him. I took him aside and said, “Tell you what. Why don’t you become my helper? We will plan worship together, set up the place for services, and you can observe and learn as God builds a team.” To make this story short, he refused. His position was, “I need to be preaching and teaching; I need to be in visible roles.” And when that didn’t happen, he fell away. He quit coming. Sadly, he faded over the “spiritual horizon” so to speak.

The point of my story is not to dismiss using our gifts and talents when it comes to fruit-bearing. What is at issue is understanding what God primarily uses in the life of a Christian to bear fruit. For sure, He gives His people gifts and talents to use to build up His people. And we must do so for the health of His church. But remember, the number one requirement for fruit-bearing is not what we do in ministry and service. The number one thing our God uses to bear lasting fruit in and from the lives of His children is the development of Christ-like character. It is our becoming more and more like Jesus that God uses to bear the most fruit. And what does becoming more and more like Jesus look like? The Fruit of the Spirit life – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). Friends, don’t be primarily concerned over the use of gifts and talents. Be zealous and committed to know Christ; to abide in Christ; to experience and be controlled by His love; to become more and more conformed into His image. Make this the priority not the function of ministry and service. Get the order of usefulness right – growing in likeness to Jesus – and our fruitfulness will increase as will our joy. It is the person becoming more like Jesus that God uses most to produce lasting spiritual fruit.

PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I want attention more on my gifts and being used than becoming more like Your Son.”

QUOTE: “The people God uses for His purposes on the earth are those becoming more and more like Jesus”