Thursday, October 07, 2010

Sowing and Reaping Fruit

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7 (King James Version)

In this devotional look at the Fruit of the Spirit, we will examine the three fruits that are designed to enhance our relationships with others.

PATIENCE: There are two words in the New Testament for patience, one which means to "abide under" or "endure" trials. The other word is long-suffering or our more modern translation that talks of a person that has a "long fuse". I think having a long fuse also pertains to enduring under trials, since having a long fuse would mean that we have a longer ability to wait before we explore or respond inappropriately to our situations and problems. Does it seem strange to you that patience under trials is put with the fruit that deals with other people? Not to me; seems most of my trials or problems in life involve other people. If we are patient with people (Eph. 4:2), we are willing to understand awkward people or disturbing events which involve others. Paul in his first letter to Timothy (1:16) tells us that God gives us the ability to be patient so that Jesus' example can be seen in us.

What is reaped from sowing patience? First, others gain a perspective of Christ that is often not displayed in others. We gain strength and endurance from God and discover His faithfulness to us through our times of patiently waiting. Last, we learn that troubles are the fruit press of God; life compresses on us so that there will flow from us refreshment for the weary, thirsty world. (1 Thess. 5:14; Rom. 12:12; James 1:2-4)

KINDNESS: Sowing and Reaping... Proverbs 11:17 says it all, "A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself." Compassion and Mercy are two additional words that mean the same as kindness. Kindness is a compassionate response to people in need. Our best example in scripture is the Good Samaritan story. At the end of the story, Jesus tells those listening to him to go and do likewise (Luke 10:37). We are to be kind to others, because Christ demonstrated that kind of mercy and kindness to us when He chose to come and save us and forgive us our sins (Eph. 4:32). Kindness is love in action (1 John 4:8; 1 Cor. 13:4).

KINDNESS is not a tolerance of wrong; that is a disservice (cleaning a wound is necessary for healing). Kindness entails courage, integrity and selflessness. When the seeds of kindness are sown in our garden - there will be a bountiful harvest of blessings for both us and others. Life can be exceedingly rich.

GOODNESS: We are created for good and that which is beneficial in effect (2 Thess. 1:11; Eph. 2:10; Heb. 13:16). God's goodness demonstrated to us is our salvation (2 Cor. 5:23), our return to God for our salvation is demonstrating goodness to others. This is not a feeling we experience, it is doing good whether we feel like it or not in order to overcome evil.

How do we know what doing good is? First, we live in obedience to the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and second, we keep eternity and the rewards of eternity in mind (Matt 25:21; John 17:4). We are to do good all the time, but especially when we are wronged (Luke 6:27; Rom. 12:21). If we respond with good to the wrong done to us or the wrong we see in the world, we are acting as God's agents because God is good all the time and is good to us even when we wrong Him.

Goodness is like a juicy piece of fresh fruit on a summer's day. It refreshes in the midst of trouble, heartache and the daily chores of life. You become to others a fresh bowl of fruit on the table verses that plastic fake stuff we try to pass off as fruit. So, is your fruit juicy or stale, old or maybe even fake? If it is the latter, then weed out the sin in your garden and pass on to others the gifts you have been given from God.

Being Patient, Kind and Good to others means that we believe in them and we believe that God can make them great. It means that we will see and treat others as God sees them, not as we see them. Finally, it means that we believe with God all things are possible. The impact of producing this fruit in our lives is that they will want what you have. They will want to have your Gardener in charge of their fruit (get it - they will want God). Think of the Harvest for God if we only sowed these fruit on a regular basis in our lives. Happy Planting!

Lynn Jahns
Christian Counselor
Director, KESWICK Institute of Biblical Studies

No comments: