Introspection: Bearing Fruit

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Bearing Fruit

The seed that fell on good soil are those who hear the word and commit themselves to it with a good and upright heart.  Through their resolve, they bear fruit.

Luke 4:15 (CEB)

Be strong in the Lord and
Never give up hope
You're gonna do great things
I already know
God's got His hand on you so
Don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray
These are the words I would say

From "The Words I Would Say" by Sidewalk Prophets

Lately, in my personal Bible studies, I've noticed that a number of Jesus' parables and teachings involve produce or, as it is simply called in Jesus' day, fruit.

In three of the Gospels, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who scatters seed, representing someone who shares a message from God.  Some of the seed lands on a path where it never takes root, representing people who don't really pay attention to the message.  Some of the seed lands on rocky soil where it takes root but cannot grow very long, representing people who hear the message but soon leave it behind.  Some of the seed lands among thorny plants where it takes root and grows but inevitably gets choked out before it can bear fruit, representing people who hear the message but later get distracted by the concerns and vices of this life.  Some of the seed lands on good soil and yields an abundant harvest, representing people who hear the message and are transformed by it.¹

The last few months have been rather busy for me.  In late April and early May, I taught a short course on the Sacraments, namely Baptism and Holy Communion.  It was a new course for me, so I learned a lot as I prepared to teach.  In June, I preached two sermons at a particular church, highlighting two recurring themes I noticed in the Gospel of Matthew, specifically the way Jesus' interprets the Hebrew Scriptures and Jesus' abiding presence with us.  My two primary spiritual gifts are knowledge and teaching, and the class I taught and the sermons I preached are fruits of those gifts.

When I encountered the Parable of the Sower recently, I considered where I see myself in it.  Considering everything that has happened in my life and everything I've done, I think it is clear that the faith in which I was raised has taken root in my life and borne fruit.  That said, I can see myself in the seed that falls among thorny plants.  I have my share of distractions in life, and I know that I will not be spiritually fruitful if I am not intentional about growing in faith.  Interestingly, in Luke's Gospel, Jesus points out that the people who are represented by the seed that falls on good soil bear fruit "through their resolve."²  Ultimately, people are not soil, so they can choose to be spiritually fruitful.

In two of the Gospels, Jesus points out that a tree can be identified by the kind of fruit it bears.  Good trees produce good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit.  Fruit trees do not produce thorns and thistles, and thorny bushes do not produce fruit.  The implication is that, in the same way that a tree can be identified by the kind of fruit it bears, the content of a person's heart can be determined by what the person produces, namely the person's words and actions.  A person's inner character will inevitably make itself outwardly known.³

Encountering Jesus' analogy of a tree and its fruit recently gave me pause.  I questioned whether or not a person is, metaphorically speaking, either a fruit tree or a thorn bush, capable of bearing only good fruit or thorns and thistles.  I believe I'm bearing some good fruit in my life, yet I know that there are things in my life that are not as they should be.  As I prepared to teach and preach in the last few months, I had to contend with the feelings of unworthiness I typically feel when I do such things.  As I noted previously, I'm surprised that, in all the years I've been preaching, the ceiling of some church hasn't fallen on me.  I think that part of my problem is that, for various reasons, I'm prone to black-and-white thinking.  People are more complicated than plants.  There are good and bad things in all of our hearts, and all of these things have ways of making themselves known in our lives.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who plants wheat in his field.  As the wheat starts to grow, weeds are found growing among the stalks of wheat.  The landowner's servants offer to pull up the weeds, but the landowner tells them not to do so, because pulling up the weeds would uproot the wheat as well.  The landowner decides that the best course of action would be to let the weeds grow along with the wheat and to separate the wheat from the weeds at harvesttime.⁴  The wheat represents "the followers of the kingdom"; the weeds represent the "followers of the evil one"; and the harvest represents a future judgment carried out by God.⁵  A lesson to be gleaned from this parable is that we must leave the task of judging people to God, because our efforts to weed out the bad from the good will only do more harm than good.

Last year, I noted that, for a long time, the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds has had a special meaning for me personally.  I have a preoccupation with what people think of me that makes me want to hide the parts of myself that are less than ideal.  The parable reminds me that, if I worry too much that people might see the "weeds" in my life, I will end up denying them the opportunity to enjoy the "wheat."  All that said, I'm starting to wonder if maybe I have been projecting my own tendencies onto other people.  In other words, I'm starting to recognize my own tendency to overlook the "wheat" in my life because I'm so fixated on the "weeds."

A couple of months ago, I wrote an introspection about the losses I've experienced in the past twelve years and my need to move on from them.  When I shared it on Facebook, several members of my church commented on it.  They saw the disappointment and loneliness that were evident in my post, but they also saw that God has been at work in my life and through my life.  A couple of weeks ago, something minor went wrong, but I overreacted, texted my poor mother about it, and suggested that, for some reason, I deserved my misfortune.  My mother reminded me of some of the good things I do.  I'm lucky to have people in my life who can see the good fruit I bear when I become fixated on the negative parts of my life.

All of us are flawed people with messy lives, but we are all capable of being spiritually fruitful.  We all need people in our lives who believe in us and who see the good fruit we bear when we fail to see it for ourselves.  May you, dear reader, bear fruit wherever you find yourself right now, and may you surround yourself with people who will support you and encourage you.


Notes:

1. Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15
2. Luke 8:15 (CEB)
3. Matthew 7:15-2; Luke 6:43-45
4. Matthew 13:24-30
5. Matthew 13:36-43 (CEB)

The photograph featured in this introspection has been released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.