Sweet, Delicious Fruit!
Scripture Reading — John 15:1-8
We have not stopped praying for you … so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord…
Colossians 1:9-10
Strawberries, plums, raspberries, apples—what’s your favorite fruit? Prickly pear, mango, persimmon, guava—what a variety of fruit there is!
Why do we like fruit? Fruit is usually sweet and juicy—and good for us! And it goes well with other foods—ice cream, cereal, chocolate, yogurt. Fruit also makes a spinach salad interesting.
Today’s reading tells us that bearing fruit is a sign of living a life worthy of the Lord. What we do and say will be as nutritious, as colorful, as sweet, and as pleasing as fruit can be. People at work, at school, or in the neighborhood will want to be around us when we live lives worthy of Jesus.
When Jesus came to live and teach among us, he provided hope, freedom, healing, forgiveness, and life itself. Those were—and still are—some of the fruits he produced and made available. “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Fruit is enjoyed not by the tree that produces it but by people who see it and pick it. To live lives worthy of the Lord is to say and do things that people notice and receive for their enjoyment and benefit. What nutritious sweetness might you bring into the life of someone today?
Gracious God, you are the source of all that is sweet and nutritious and good. For your glory, produce good fruit in us so that your sweetness and health might be enjoyed by people we meet today. Amen.
About the author — Harvey Stob
Rev. Harvey Stob and his wife, Audrey, served as missionaries in Argentina for eleven years. They then served churches in Cincinnati, Ohio; Ridgewood, New Jersey; and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Harvey retired from full-time pastoral work in 2009. He and Audrey have three children and seven grandchildren.
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