Fruit Unto God

The scenery of life changes, but the core issues remain the same:  will I live for myself or for God?  Who am I going to rely upon?  Whose approval do I value and seek?  What is my motivation for serving God and others?  The answer we give with our mouths is not always reflected in our hearts and minds.  I thank God for the Bible which illuminates our hearts and the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin and guides into all truth.

As we serve God, there is a very real possibility we might do so for selfish reasons.  Our motive may not be selfish at the beginning, but we can fall into a works-based trap that we ought to see a measurable return on our investment.  We consider our sacrifices and efforts as great and feel we have not been adequately recognised by God or men.  When our focus drifts to what is not we discover selfish expectations tucked away in the recesses of our hearts.  I remember vividly as a young teen when a man helping with the youth group at church angrily stormed out of a Sunday night meeting because he wasn't "seeing any fruit" from his efforts.  I never saw him again and would not know his face if I saw him today.  But his anger and frustration has always stuck with me.

I believe there is no shortage of servants of the Most High God who tangle with anger and frustration, people who struggle to cope with their dashed expectations.  They are embarrassed by the lack of "fruit" from their efforts.  People come and go from church.  Youth leave the ministry people have poured their heart and soul into for another group with more kids their age, better facilities, or more fun activities.  And maybe, just maybe, they leave because they are sick of the preaching!  Like Jacob we can say, "All these things are against me!" or finally realise we ought to serve God for God's sake, not so we can bask in the fruit of our labour as if we have done anything.  When we understand the church is the Body of Christ and He is faithful to build His church we are freed from the burden of our failed expectations.  Our wildest dreams are pathetic and feeble compared to the plans God has for every one of His beloved children.

It is good for us to recognise disappointment and frustration in our hearts immediately and realign our eyes and purpose with Jesus Christ.  Remember the joy of God calling you to serve Him in the church?  For those who serve in a foreign field, remember how you wondered how God would bring such desires to fruition?  You wondered how God would establish you in a foreign land and now in the field new questions crop up:  how can we reach the community?  What am I supposed to be doing?  Why does it feel I am spinning my wheels and being bogged down in the mire of administration?  Where are other faithful labourers?  All these questions and concerns are answered by the presence of the Almighty God.  We labour because He labours; we serve because He serves; we sacrifice because He gave all.  Anger or frustration concerning the lack of fruit in the lives of people we are serving likely reveals we ourselves have ceased to abide in the Vine Jesus Christ and have begun to look to our own works for validation instead of God's love and grace.

People are constant in our labours as Christians, but it is Christ who must remain central.  When ministry becomes about people or ourselves we begin to serve a master other than Jesus, and this master cannot deliver on a single promise or meet one of our needs.  Let us heed the words of Paul when he wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, "Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit."  We quench the Spirit of God when we cease to rejoice, pray, or thank God in everything.  This will cut us off from fellowship with God and hamstring our ability to run the race with endurance God has set before each one of us.  When we labour and run our race for God's sake He will see we reach the end and finish strong by His grace.  It is through abiding in Christ's love we will bring fruit unto God.  We ought to rejoice that God causes fruit to spring from our barren hearts and repent when we are frustrated or bitter there isn't more.  The fruit is for God, after all!