Bearing Fruit

I love summer and the abundance of fruit everywhere. There are so many tastes, patterns, textures and choices - I am so thankful that we have so much to enjoy. That leads me to thinking on how this relates to me, as a mom.

I am glad that we are given the task of raising our children and being part of their day to day lives. I am also glad that we are not left to do this huge job alone. Outside of our husbands, there is a resource that flows strongly day and night, IF we would only access it. It is the life giving energy that comes from the SOURCE - Jesus. We are told how to access this Source in John 15:4, Jesus said, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." This is the secret to all of life - one of the greatest truths, as a mom, as a wife, as a friend...the list goes on - we don't have to bear fruit on our own. In fact, if that is how we are setting out to bear fruit, we are going to be in for some big disappointments.

This verse, and many like it, are very clear in showing us where true life comes from - Jesus is the SOURCE of all fruit that lasts. It is possible to do good things on our own and even have something that looks like fruit appear for a while, but it will not be genuine and can't have lasting effect if it is not grounded in Christ. This applies to many things for me; loving my husband when he has a hard day, being patient with my children when they are tired, showing love to a parent when they are don't agree with our parenting methods. I have to have life flowing in, so that I can have life to give out. There are too many responsibilities as a wife and mom to even try bearing fruit in my own strength, and yet sometimes I do.

My desire is to continue to grow and listen for God's gentle voice when I need to be reminded why something has not been "growing well". Sometimes it takes seeing the rotten fruit in my every day life, to realize that I did it in my own strength and not His. Then, all that is required is to tell God that I need Him to remove the fruit that is rotting and replace it with His fruit that lasts.

I remember hearing an illustration years ago about being connected to the Vine, that went like this...If we had a garden hose and attached it to a deep well that could never run dry, we would have an abundant supply of water, wouldn't we? But if we failed to ever go over to the tap and turn on the hose, we wouldn't have any water at all. It is the same in our lives; God is ready, waiting and able, but if we choose to go about this huge task of parenting in our own strength and not ask for His help, the results will not amount to much.

Why choose rotten apples in our homes, when we can enjoy the choicest of fruit to fill our lives?