“I am the Vine; you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation is intimate and organic, and the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. John 15:5
The Fruit Of Maturity
There’s a great contrast between being mature as a human being and being a mature Christian.
Our goal as parents is to teach our children to become independent of us.
As a child grows up, a mark of maturity should be their ability to depend upon themself.
The opposite is true for a mature Christian.
The goal is to recognize and act upon our utter dependence upon Jesus Christ to bear fruit in our lives.
For God tells us that apart from Him, we can do nothing.
A branch cut off from the vine will not bear fruit.
The branch depends totally upon the vine for its whole life.
I remember well many frustrating years trying to produce fruit on my own.
Oh yes, I would ask God to bless what I was doing, but I wasn’t asking Him what to do and then depending upon Him to work through me to produce His results.
My next maturity step came when I realized more clearly my need to ask for His guidance and help, but at first, I was still trying to get an expected result.
I was close but still frustrated—because things often didn’t turn out how I thought they should.
True maturity resulted when I let go of those expectations and started depending on God’s power and His results.
He is God, I am not—so I had to learn to trust Him since it was always His will that determined how things turned out.
Remember again the truth from Philippians 2:13—how God is so much at work in us for His good pleasure.
Our job is to surrender and to allow Him to do this work and get the results.
How vain it was to think I knew what the outcome should be. I can’t see the end; only God can.
In what ways have you depended upon yourself for outcomes that only God can complete?
What difference do you see in the lives of others you serve when you depend on God?
Lord, we confess that we depend on You to bear the fruit of Your love. Find us surrendered that we may glorify You. May there be no doubt the love others receive from us comes from You. Amen