Liv
Extracts of Truth & Encouragement from a Growth Journey with God
What (or Whom) is Your Source of Life?
If you do an internet search on “life source,” you may find everything from blood donation centers; to donations for organs, eyes, and tissues; to organic grocery stores; to water filtration systems. What do you think of when you hear “life source?” What is your source of life?
“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23 AB
Fruit…a picture of abundance…a sign of life; in fact, the sun is also a symbol of life. They go hand in hand. Did you know…
Fruit trees need full sun to really grow and flourish!?!
“‘The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].'”
~Jesus, John 10:10 AB
Spiritually speaking, I think we could change the previous statement to:
In order to really grow and flourish, we need the Son (of God)…every bit of Him we can soak up!
He’s the only one through Whom we can really live…and be enabled to live life in abundance! I’m not talking about getting everything we want! I’m talking about flourishing, when it comes to the Spirit of God producing fruits of His character in and through us.
* The LORD wanted me to write about the fruits of the Spirit in the last post, as well. Check out the “Pruning Day” post for an everyday look at each piece of fruit.
From a spiritual perspective, “fruit,” which is spoken of in Galatians 5:22-23, refers to what’s done in partnership with Christ. We’re blessed with the Spirit of God, residing in us, as a seal, when we accept Jesus Christ as the sacrifice…the payment…for our sins. Think of Him like glue; He joins us together with Christ and the Father, so as to prevent us from coming apart from Him. Also, like a seal attached to an important document, He’s the symbol Who shows we’re God’s.
“‘I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to Me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit; but you cannot do anything without Me.'”
~Jesus, John 15:5 CEV
In this verse, we see two life sources…1) the vine and 2) the branches. Yet, the branches can’t produce any fruit, if they’re cut off from the vine. In order to “produce lots of fruit” (through the Spirit), we have to be joined to Christ.
“[Then Jesus said,] ‘I am the True Vine, and My Father takes care of the vineyard. He removes every one of My branches that doesn’t produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit.'”
John 15:1-2 GWT
Here, Jesus says that He IS Truth…He’s REAL…He, Who is unseen, is connected to the “seen” (His being in us can’t be hidden!). God the Father is a worker, Who intends on accomplishing something. Any grape farmer who’s interested in growing a fertile plantation wants to grow as many good, quality grapes as he can. Likewise, the Father’s intention is to grow a lot of quality fruit! In order to do this, He looks at each branch (His follower) and sees if it’s producing fruit or not. If it IS, He prunes it to direct new, healthy growth, producing more fruit! Pruning, actually, means “cleansing,” here; He removes the sin, which is opposite of what He desires, getting rid of what is fruitless in us.
Check out what literal pruning does!
When you trim your trees, you get all these benefits!
* Say farewell to dead, broken or damaged branches.
* Save your property from potential damage from fallen branches.
* When you remove old branches, you give trees the green light to put out healthy, new growth.
* Train trees to grow on your terms so that branches won’t hang over the roof or stretch into power lines.
* Give trees a clean, polished look that elevates your whole landscape.
* Set the tree up with a good foundation for long-term health.
https://blog.davey.com/2018/09/what-is-pruning-the-importance-benefits-and-methods-of-pruning/
As you saw in the last post (and as you may know from experience), getting pruned isn’t a lot of fun, but the benefits, as you see above, include healthy, new growth and an abundant “crop,” through the Spirit; this allows us to accomplish much, as we promote the value of the One we belong to…of Who He truly is…to others! So long to not being productive or useful! Relish the protection of the Father, as we become more and more obedient to Him, following His ways. I don’t know about you, but I love having a source of life like this…One Whom I can count on for long-term spiritual health!
“My Father’s glory is shown by your bearing much fruit; and in this way, you become My disciples.”
John 15:8 GWT
What’s the Father seeing, when He examines you? Are you producing a ton of fruit? Does He have the pruning sheers ready for you? Whatever season you’re in, I pray that you’ll see Him for Who He is, through His Son, Jesus, and the power of His Spirit…that He’ll enable you to live fully, abundantly for Him!
Liv 