Frugal Fruit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
Insight
Glen, my father-in-law, has to be the most "frugal" person I know. He's always looking for ways to skirt the system, especially regarding the one checked bag rule that most airlines have in place. Glenn packs everything in one bag, and I mean everything. Yet, somehow he manages to get the luggage to weigh exactly fifty pounds and avoid the overweight baggage charge. Helping to get his suitcase from the car into the house is the equivalent of a Cross Fit class.
A few summers ago, he came to visit us here in North Carolina. To my surprise, he brought two bags on this trip, which caused my back to tighten up just by looking at them. It also made me wonder what was so valuable that he'd splurge and pay money to bring it across the coast.
After we hauled everything in, gave hugs, and welcomed each other, Glenn opened one of the suitcases. I kid you not; he filled it with ripe, green avocados. So for the entire time my in-laws visited, we feasted like kings and had plenty left over.
These delicious treats came straight off the trees that line his home in California. The harvest it produced was so plentiful that Glenn couldn't keep them all for himself. If he did, most of them would rot and decay. So instead, he gave his fruit (yes, it's a fruit) to friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family for them to enjoy and savor.
We should handle the transformation inside our hearts much the same way. The hope we've experienced was never meant to be kept to ourselves but rather given away to those around us. Being planted in Christ produces fruit for others to enjoy.
It's very easy to lose sight of this truth, especially when the church uses phrases like "my walk" and what God is doing "in me." When we turn a relationship with Christ into merely a self-help system with religious language sprinkled through it, we cheapen the freedom we're offered and squander opportunities for impact.
We don't understand the devastating effect this causes in our hearts. Our soul shrinks or expands to the size of our most significant concern. If our highest value remains ourselves and what God can do for us, our soul becomes minuscule and unusable. We might have a full stomach, but we'll spend our days with an empty heart. All the fruit withers and goes to waste.
Fruit must be cultivated through living out our faith with humility and courage so those around us benefit. God always does something in us so that He can do something through us. This is where God stretches us and molds us into His image. By giving ourselves away, we gain so much more. Not only are others are nourished, but we are left satisfied.
Reflection
Would you say your soul is shrinking or expanding? What makes you answer in the way that you do?
What fruit is being produced in your life? How can you use what God is doing in your heart to influence others?
Prayer
God, let me not be so wrapped up in my little world that I lose sight of how You are moving around me. Give me with eyes to see the needs of others and the courage to step into those places and be used. Let everything I do point others to the hope I have found in You. Work in my heart while I play a small part in doing Your redemptive work in this world. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.