How's your Fruit? 

An Observation.

This morning I decided to go out and harvest some of our Raspberries. Yes, I know I put them in a Blueberry container. It already has holes for air so, why not? 

Last year I planted the Raspberry bush but didn't get any fruit from it. I was curious to see if this year we would get any? They say that sometimes it takes a year for a plant to produce fruit. Low and behold we got fruit and boy is it good! Much better than in the store. 

Something I noticed in my hunt for the fruit was that a lot of the fruit is sitting on top of the bush, brilliantly colored and easy to pick. Yet some other pieces I had to search for I found under leaves and branches which were also surprisingly vibrant, full bodied and juicy. I thought this was something interesting to ponder. The following is a glimpse into how my mind works with all of its crazy diversions. 

I believe God is always eager to speak to us through His Creation so I took some time to reflect on the similarity between the fruit on the bush and the fruit in our own lives. I am in no way a Naturalist, a Theologian or a Psychologist. I do however like to ponder the why's of a thing and try to learn from its existence and/or purpose.

Whether a person is a follower of Christ or not they will produce some kind of fruit. Some lives seem to be full of abundance and are thriving while others may be barely surviving. The phrase that he or she is a bad Apple comes to mind. Meaning that they are not one that is producing healthy and good fruit in their lives.

The production of good or bad fruit may have to do with how a person is raised and/or what they are exposed to. And yet you can look at a family with multiple siblings that are all raised by the same parents in the same exact way with the same experiences and some will grow up healthy and productive while others not so much. Why is that?

I noticed that on one sprig from the Raspberry bush, there were multiple pieces of fruit all grouped  together. Some pieces were ripe and ready to pick, some were not ripe yet and some were done- black and ready to fall off. They were all on the same little sprig and exposed to the same amount of light and water and yet at different stages of their development. 

In thinking about people, each person is created unique unto themselves and they can develop differently. Some grow up faster while others may lag behind. That said even though a group of siblings- while brought up the same way, by the same people and in the same environment- could easily be different from their sibling because they will have different likes and interests, even twins. Though quite similar they all have a different mind.

Of course there is no comparison with the fruit on a Raspberry bush and how it "wants" to grow. It's motivation etc. It doesn't have a mind to make a choice of when it wants to be ripe or not, that's just silly. However the point of this exposition is not to try and explain why the choices are made by a person, so much as it is on the outcome of a person's choices, and the direction of their life, versus the stages of development of the fruit on a Raspberry bush.

As more children come into the family unit the parents are getting older and may change their rearing approach for the younger child to the older sibling. (For this writing I'm not talking about multiples born at the same time) Maybe the parents have more patience, maybe they have less.  Some kids might be more sensitive than others, maybe some are angry while others happy. Some parents may teach a child to be selfish and thoughtless to the needs of others while another parent may teach a child to be generous and kind, always thinking of someone else before themselves. This might even be from the two parents in the same household because they themselves are two separate individuals with their own drives and motivation. So people are different therefore will have different strengths and weakness' and paths they decide to take when they are on their own.

I'm sure there have been experiments done on this. Doctors studying a group of children- all at the same age and exposed to the same things- looking for the outcome. I think there was an episode on the TV show Fringe that covered it? Maybe not. 

Can a person produce good fruit even though they had bad experiences growing up or were raised in a family of disfunction? Is there any way for a person to change? Maybe searching to find a common ground as others who appear to be "successful" that offers a solid foundation to grow from? Can they have the same chances and opportunities as another person? 

Being a Born Again follower of Christ myself I would say, Absolutely people can change, because I have. Using the Bible is a great foundation to build your life upon. You should also find a good teacher that has a sound Biblical lifestyle that you can emulate. And all of that is totally true and yet... there are many followers of Jesus out there that do Not necessarily have what one would call a fruitful and successful life.

So what is the answer? How can we grow to be vibrant, thriving and bountiful producing an abundance of good fruit in our lives? 

I have found that the Only true Source that I can rely on is the Holy Spirit of God. When an individual with all of their varying thoughts, ideas and experiences welcomes the Spirit of God into their life, a commitment is made by God to change the individual into the very Image of Christ, from the inside out. I think all will say that given what little they may know about the Person Jesus Christ is that He was a great example of how we should strive to be.

This is from the Message Version in the Book of Acts Chapter 8.

29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name. After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun.

God made a choice to come to earth in the person of Jesus. He came to take upon Himself the thing that prevented us from being able to spend Eternity with Him (sin from Adam and Eve). Along with that He created a way, by Rising from the dead, to send His own Spirit to live within us thus conforming us into the Vibrant fruit that we were created to be.

The Book of John 14:26, The New International Version. (Red are the words that Jesus spoke)

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 16:13 The New International Version.

13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Jesus speaks to us, through His Spirit written down in the Bible, in the Book of John Chapter 15 vs 1-6 New International Version

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also 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.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

The fruit that Jesus is talking about is the fruit that our life produces. Those beautiful Red Raspberries that we want to be. The kind of fruit that is sweet to the taste. Yes some fruit may take a bit longer to ripen than others and that's where we must exercise love and patience allowing others to grow and ripen at their own pace. How do we have the love and patience that we need with others? It's by allowing more of the Holy Spirit a place within us Who will change us into the very image of God through Christ Jesus. 

What about the fruit that is hidden underneath the leaves of the bushes and yet still grows healthy and strong? For this comparison I have found that there are some people who have been so wounded in their lives that they need to be pressed in even closer to His protective care. A place where they can feel safe from the elements that could wound them even deeper. They need to be in that environment where they are able to grow and thrive. While others may not see them as clearly they can easily be found by the One that seeks them out.

As for the fruit that is on the surface of the bush ripe and ready for picking? That fruit has weathered some tremendous storms itself and yet has been able to overcome the turbulence and offer itself up for all to enjoy. My focus is not on why the fruit is in different places in the bush. It's more on learning how we can thrive wherever we are planted. There is a place for all and when we put our trust in the Lord we will be able to see our lives change for the better and begin to be all that we were created to be.

The other fruit that has died on the vine was left too long and ignored. It wasn't picked when it was at it's peak. Maybe no one noticed it or didn't care to make an effort to reach it before it withered away.

To sum it all up, we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to help us to be all that we were created to be. We learn what that looks like by reading and studying the Bible which allows us an insight into Who Jesus was and what He did. This enlightens us to see the changes that we want to see in our own lives. 

We also need to be aware of those around us. We should rejoice with those who are producing great fruit while we encourage those who are struggling to press in and learn more about what it means to have a fruitful life. Finally we need to be on the look out for those who are in need and withering away. They just may need to hear a greeting of hello or have someone who can come along side them and pour a little water, a little Living Water, into their thirsty soul. 

Eventually all of the fruit will die and the Gardener will come and prune back the bush for the next season of new fruit. This is the way of life on earth. We all are here for a short time and in the grand scheme of Eternity I feel we should make the most of our time. We have a choice of where we want to spend the rest of Eternity. 

That's my thought for the day. Now it's time to go enjoy some delicious Raspberries that are patiently waiting to be gobbled up!