God has been showing me more lately about fruit and works in His Word and I now realize that our works may not be fruit. And, we do not work to produce fruit, but the fruit we bear comes naturally from abiding in Christ. If we are exercising the gifts of the Spirit without the fruit of the Spirit, we could be harmful to the body of Christ. Simply put if we are serving God with His gifts, but do not have the behavior which reflects Christ, then this could spoil the work which we say that we are doing for Christ.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
People will know we are Christians by the fruit we are bearing not just by our works. They will see a reflection of Christ in us when we love the unlovable; have joy in suffering; exhibit peace in the middle of the storms of life; have patience in arduous situations; show kindness in lack; display goodness despite all the bad around; stand in faithfulness when everyone is unfaithful; walk in gentleness when dealt with harshly; and maintain self-control in an uncontrollable situation.
You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Matthew 7:16-20
I am understanding more and more that the work we do for Christ should come from the fruit we bear in Christ. Because we are in Christ, love, joy, peace, patience, they all grow naturally through us when we truly abide in Him. So from being in Christ should come the doing for Christ. For example, God put the love for children and inner-city communities in me as I grew in Him. I didn’t even like children before I became a Christian. Therefore, the love He gave me compelled me to work with children in disenfranchised areas.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15
We obey Christ’s commands because we love Him. We are told in 1 John 4:16 that God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. So, we cannot love God and not do what He says or else the work that we say we are doing for Him will be futile. Righteousness and peace are also important to create the work that God wants to do in and through us. James tells us that the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
For there will be the seed of peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the heavens will provide their dew; and I will give to the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance. Zechariah 8:12
When we sow the seeds of peace then the work will be productive in whatever land or job God has put us and He will ensure that it is fruitful in His time. On the other hand, if we are doing work that is not ordained by God or born out of abiding in Christ, then we may lament as the writer of Ecclesiastes did.
This too is futility. Therefore I completely despaired over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2:19b-20
When we are living right with God, our labor for Him will not be in vain. Now, God’s work is never easy because there will always be those like Sanballat and Tobiah who tried to hinder Nehemiah from rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, a job that God had ordained for him to do. It is important that as we do God’s work, we display His character in all we do. Some of us may not understand that it is essential to have a Christlike character when we work for Christ. The Word of God tells us that His riches are His kindness and patience and it His kindness that leads us to repentance. When we show God’s kindness in whatever we do it can lead to a sinner’s repentance and his or her acceptance of Jesus Christ.
We may be so focused on what big work that we think God wants us to do, when He actually wants to work on our hearts. We need to seek Him and break up the fallow ground in our hearts so that He can have His way in us. Whatever seeds we sow from the fruit we bear will determine the outcome of our harvest.
Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness; harvest in accordance with kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes and rains righteousness on you. You have plowed wickedness, you have harvested injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your way, in your many warriors. Hosea 10:12-13
When we have plowed our hearts and let God have His way, then our hearts will be good soil ready to not only receive the Word of God, but to also live it. Then we will produce good fruit as we persevere in the Lord and wait for Him to bring about His purposes in His perfect timing.
But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with perseverance. Luke 8:15
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