It’s apple time! At least where I live, people are flocking to orchards to pick apples. It’s impressive to see apple trees weighed down with apples, and there’s a certain satisfaction in picking your own fruit.
Do you know who loves to pick apples? God does! As he talked to his disciples on the night before his death, Jesus encouraged them to bear much fruit. In fact, he said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8). Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. God the Father loves to see the fruit that results from Jesus’ love and grace flowing through us. God loves to go apple picking or grape harvesting all the time. He is glorified with we live lives full of fruits of faith.
So, bear much fruit! Like what? Like “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Those are fruits the Holy Spirit loves to work in us through God’s Word. Or, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). Those are fruits that Jesus’ love for us inspires in us. When you see fields ripe for harvest, remember that God loves to pick fruit too: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit.”
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