Do You Bear Good Fruit?

Luke 13:6-9 NKJV
6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 

7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 

8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”

Proverbs 12:12 "The wicked covet the catch of evil men, but the root of the righteous yields fruit."

Matthew 3:10 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

Galatians 6:7 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."

Dear Jesus,

Your compelling question is "Do you bear good fruit?"  That's really Your bottom line for my life.  

Thank You for the position of favor that You have granted me.  You have shared the light of Your Gospel with me!  You pricked my heart with conviction.  I felt the pangs of Your marvelous gift of guilt in my conscience which led me to confession and repentance of my sins.  Your Holy Spirit witnessed to me that I was adopted as Your brother, a son of Your Father, a child of God. Forgiveness!  New life!  Called to follow You and to become Your disciple.  Thank You.

But what about that "follow" part?  What about that "disciple" part?  What about Your call to "Christ-likeness"?  Do I bear the fruit of righteousness?

Thank You for the opportunities that You have given me.  I have far more spiritual opportunities than most people.  Just as the fig tree was a sort of national symbol for the Jews and granted appropriate favor, it was held accountable by the owner and the gardener to bear fruit.  In the same way, You require me to bear fruit.  The favor of opportunity demands productivity.  

The simple truth is that "uselessness invites disaster" (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, 1953, p. 180).  Do I bear good fruit?

Productivity is a matter of multiplication.  Just as the fig tree had to multiply itself with bearing fruit, You call Your disciples to bear fruit personally and in the lives of others--multiplication.  

C. T. Studd (1860-1931) the English missionary to China, India, and Africa, wrote:

Some want to live

within the sound

of church or chapel bell;

I want to run

a rescue shop

within a yard of hell.

Studd's passion creates multiplication. His life, testimony, and writings are still bearing fruit.

"The fig-tree was drawing strength and sustenance from the soil; and in return was producing nothing. That was precisely its sin. In the last analysis, there are two kinds of people in this world--those who take out more than they put in, and those who put in more than they take out.  In one sense we are all in debt to life. We came into it at the peril of someone else's life; and we would never have survived without the care of those who loved us. We have inherited a Christian civilization and a freedom which we did not create. There is laid on us the duty of handing things on better than we found them" (Barclay, p. 180).

Lord Jesus, I follow You in the journey of discipleship today.  Help me to bear the fruit of multiplication.  

In the Name of Jesus,

Amen.