www.bymonline.org | May 2020 | page 04
glaring difference in us, something out of the
ordinary, something that they don't normally see in
the world around them, and praise God. You
should do more than others (Mt 5:47). What
touched me in the passage was this: “The people
were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in
their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ” (Lk
3:15). A man mistaken for God! Let our lives be so
godly.
In a busy airport, a team was rushing to catch
their flight. In their dash, they toppled a table full of
apples. Apples rolled all around. The boy selling
those apples was in tears. Suddenly one man from
the team came running back. He picked up the
apples, arranged the table, handed a hundred
dollar note to the boy and asked, “Is this enough?”
The boy beamed and asked, “Mister, are you
Jesus?” That is fruit bearing.
Let's see the importance of fruit bearing from
a passage in the book of Judges 9:8-15. “One day
the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves.
They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.' But the olive
tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which
both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over
the trees?' Next, the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come
and be our king.' But the fig tree replied, 'Should I
give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway
over the trees?' Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come
and be our king. “But the vine answered, 'Should I
give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men,
to hold sway over the trees?'”
None of them were willing to give up their
fruitbearing that honored God with their sweetness
and cheered God and men, to be promoted as king.
Finally the thorn bush accepted the offer.
Many have left their calling of fruitbearing for
more lucrative positions. They are not cheering the
heart of God and man. God comes looking for fruits
in His hunger. But He is often disappointed
because they had gone to do the thorn bush's job.
Men look for sweet fruits in a Christian so that they
can receive some cheer. But the fruitbearing trees
have gone to become kings to rule. God's calling for
you is to bear fruit. Satan offered Jesus “all”
authority and kingship. Jesus said 'No'. People
wanted to catch Him and make Him king. But He
slipped away. He wanted to do the will of God, to
give fruit.
I have a wicked desire in my heart, to enter
politics and make radical changes. I may think,
that way I can glorify God and bring joy to people.
But no way. God will not be pleased with that
because that is not His calling for me. Let thorn
bushes do the job. I must stick to my calling. Jesus
once visited a garden where He saw a barren tree
and ordered it to be cut down. Obviously it was lush
with foliage. God is unhappy with trees that do not
bear fruit. Let us follow the example of Jesus and
run away from what is not our calling. Let the
limelight posts be given to those who crave for it.
Let me be lighting my little corner.
Psalm one is a song on fruit bearing. In a
nutshell, the Psalmist tells us not to be whiling
away our time with people who have no godly
desires. If you lie down with dogs you get fleas. All
three, the wicked, the sinners and the mockers fill
TV and other media outlets. They will eat away your
time. Instead delight in God's Word which is the
root of fruit bearing.
We cannot be meditating the Word day and
night. So what does it mean? It means the whole
day we remember to live by the Word. Morning you
get up and when you feel like shouting at your
spouse and children, discipline yourself to speak
kind words. Where do we have control over our
lives? It is in the little things. You go to the office
and a colleague wants to flirt with you. You
remember what you read about faithfulness and
move out of the place. Your subordinate forgets an
important issue. Instead of unleashing a litany of
expletives, call him aside and calmly counsel him.
After a harrowing day in the office, you come home
and find your child had left the lunch box in school.
You feel like slapping the child. But you give a hug
and gently remind the child to be more careful and
the punishment if she forgets. This kind of selfdiscipline
is declining precipitously. Do the right
thing at every instance. Trouble is, most of us know
the difference between right and wrong. We just
don't want to admit it. Quite often we change jobs,