Am I Filled with
Fruit that Glorifies God?
9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound
more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may
approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
11 filled with the fruit of
righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:11
Jim Elliot was one of the martyred
missionaries in 1956. He was a passionate Christian who journaled many of his
thoughts and prayers. One such entry addressed his concern about impact. He
wrote, “Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to
decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men
must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” His impact continues on
even though he died over fifty years ago at the age of twenty-nine.
Paul says God’s people in this community
are called to be fruit producers. People will know the kind of tree we are by
the fruit they see in our lives. Our identity is revealed by what is seen in
our lives.
The health of a tree can be discerned by
the quality of the fruit, so the health of a Christian can be seen as spiritual
fruit is produced. We must remember that this will only happen as we are
serious about the things of God and serious about obedience.
How is this fruit of righteousness
produced? He tells very plainly that it is produced through Jesus Christ
as Christ is increasingly loved and obeyed we will begin to produce the fruit
of righteousness. Just like a healthy tree’s fruit comes as a result of
the proper necessities so too our fruit is produced as we concern ourselves
with the proper things.
In other words a healthy tree doesn’t try
to produce fruit, it just does. If it has rich soil, right amount of rain
and sunshine, and if it’s free of disease, it will produce fruit.
As Christians, the same is true for
us. Focus on having an increasing love for Christ and for others, be
diligent in studying the Scriptures in order to discern the mind of Christ and
what the excellent things are, and be filling your life with what matters most
and you will find that the fruit of righteousness will begin to form on your
branches.
Your life will become transformed and God
will receive maximum glory. Jesus honored God by fulfilling His purpose on
earth. We honor God the same way. When anything in creation fulfills its
purpose, it brings glory to the Creator.
George Fox (the founder of the Religious
Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers) was often approached by
people pleading that they were saved because they believed in Jesus. Fox's
response to them was: where is the evidence of your belief?
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