The Word of God contains innumerable references to agriculture. It mentions seeds, planting, soil, plowing, pruning, vines, fruit, and harvest. These are but a few of the terms referring to plant life mentioned in the Bible. The point of all of these terms and references is that the Holy Spirit in us should grow, bloom, and blossom like a plant. After the Spirit blossoms within us, it should begin putting forth fruit. The Holy Spirit is part of our Triune God. As with God, He is perfect, but we are not. If you are not putting forth fruit, it is time to begin searching inward and learning what is hindering us from being fruitful branches. Christ said, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the Kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one”. Matthew 13:37-38. The Son of Man always sows good seed, but if the seed does not take root, it will blow away and root itself in bad soil, and you will become a son of the evil one. You do not want to be a son of the evil one, for eventually you will burn in the lake of fire. Rather you should be the embodiment of Psalms 1:3, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields it fruit in season”. When the Gospel was spoken to you, the seed was planted, and likely watered again by somebody else. Then, when you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, the seed bloomed. As it grows, the seed will blossom, and then you should begin to put forth fruit as you water with the Word of God, and let the Son shine upon you. Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, we have a common enemy who will stop at nothing to dry you up and keep you from bearing fruit. He lost your soul when you accepted Jesus, but he will do his best to see to it that you don’t bring anybody with you.
One of the tools the devil uses to keep us from bearing fruit is offense. He will work to get you offended by another member of the Body of Christ, probably a member of your church. Especially if your spirit is being properly fed by your church. Your church is where you should plant your roots. If you are offended and leave the church, you pull up your roots and try to plant elsewhere. But this pattern will continue, because it works! Eventually, your plant withers and dies, and even though you are a Christian, you are spiritually dead, putting forth no fruit and bringing no souls to the Kingdom. In fact, you may even push them away. This is not to say that you should not be offended. It can and it will happen. What you do with the offense is what makes all of the difference. We are forgiven; therefore we should also forgive. We will endure suffering, we will shed tears, and our life will not be perfect after accepting Christ as Savior, but through Him we can enjoy a more abundant life than we would without Him. Jesus suffered and cried during His earthly ministry. He feared death, because He was human, and cried to the Father for comfort. Hebrews 5:7 says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission”. Fortunately, we are joint heirs with Christ, and we can be heard because of our reverent submission. When you are offended, you should offer up prayers with loud cries and tears, cast your cares upon the Lord, and ask Him to help you to forgive the offender. You will find a peace that nothing can surpass, and you can keep your roots planted. If those who offend you are in authority over you, then you are biblically bound to submit to them, unless the go against the Word of God, according to Romans 13:1-2.
One of the tools the devil uses to keep us from bearing fruit is offense. He will work to get you offended by another member of the Body of Christ, probably a member of your church. Especially if your spirit is being properly fed by your church. Your church is where you should plant your roots. If you are offended and leave the church, you pull up your roots and try to plant elsewhere. But this pattern will continue, because it works! Eventually, your plant withers and dies, and even though you are a Christian, you are spiritually dead, putting forth no fruit and bringing no souls to the Kingdom. In fact, you may even push them away. This is not to say that you should not be offended. It can and it will happen. What you do with the offense is what makes all of the difference. We are forgiven; therefore we should also forgive. We will endure suffering, we will shed tears, and our life will not be perfect after accepting Christ as Savior, but through Him we can enjoy a more abundant life than we would without Him. Jesus suffered and cried during His earthly ministry. He feared death, because He was human, and cried to the Father for comfort. Hebrews 5:7 says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission”. Fortunately, we are joint heirs with Christ, and we can be heard because of our reverent submission. When you are offended, you should offer up prayers with loud cries and tears, cast your cares upon the Lord, and ask Him to help you to forgive the offender. You will find a peace that nothing can surpass, and you can keep your roots planted. If those who offend you are in authority over you, then you are biblically bound to submit to them, unless the go against the Word of God, according to Romans 13:1-2.
Grow in Christ according to Jeremiah 17:5-8, and you will begin to blossom and put forth fruit. The fruit that you put forth will attract others to the Body of Christ, and that is what we are here for. We are to grow the Kingdom of God, as well as growing in the Kingdom. Until next time, may God bless and keep you, and may His face shine upon you.
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