Right to Bear Fruit
By Jim Huskins
McDowell County
“The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
In 1966, our Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Ernesto Miranda. He confessed to serious crimes without being aware that he was not required to incriminate himself. He did not know that he was entitled to an attorney. Since then, officers must inform suspects of those rights while making an arrest. This process is crucial to our legal system. So why do I laugh when I hear the words “Miranda Rights.”
My problem is a flamboyant singer, dancer, and actress named Carmen Miranda. Any mention of the famous, pre-arrest protocol causes me to imagine Carmen Miranda Rights: You have the right to wear fruit on your head. You have the right to an outrageous accent. You have the right to carry a large bunch of bananas. If you cannot afford a large bunch of bananas, one will be provided for you. This is all ridiculous, but Carmen Miranda recently helped me see a profound implication of following the Son of God. Every believer has both the responsibility—and the right—to bear fruit.
Followers of Christ are supposed to bear fruit. The scant attention paid to the fruit of discipleship these days is usually focused on personal characteristics: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These fruits of the Spirit are marvelous. Their presence indicates that a believer has his or her flesh under control. Those traits, however, are not an end-all. They are tools for carrying out the Great Commission. Jesus endured poverty, rejection, hatred, betrayal, and crucifixion so that He could become the firstborn of many brothers. The responsibility for recruiting and equipping His family falls to you and me.
Many who claim to be Christians desire “eternal security” without changing their behavior. Jesus insists that we take up an execution stake and follow Him. That journey cannot be provisioned through lukewarm commitment. He devoted Himself to making disciples. He commissioned us to do the same. New disciples bring Him joy.
Fruit is the result of healthy organisms fulfilling their purpose. In Scripture, “fruit” can describe one’s behavior. Our actions reflect the condition of our hearts. God is pleased when we obey His instructions for living. He calls such fruit “righteousness.” He never views righteousness as trash. “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” Jesus says that righteousness has eternal benefit.
Earlier in John 15, Jesus tells us how to bear abundant fruit. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.” We abide in Him by devoting ourselves to prayer, fellowship, Bible study, confession, and a hunger for obedience. Legitimate discipleship produces more disciples.
Everyone who reads the entire Bible with an open mind learns that fruit has been God’s plan from the beginning. The Hebrew word for “fruit” is periy. It also means “bough” and “reward.” Periy’s root word is parah: “fruitful, increase, grow, bear forth, be fruitful.” The Bible is God’s manual for fruit growers.
The earth was designed to produce fruit. The humans were commanded to be fruitful. The fruit of the Tree of Life is eternal life. Israel’s spies brought from Canaan a cluster of grapes so large that it had to be carried on a pole between two men. The people of Israel should have been thrilled. Instead, they were terrified. During Solomon’s reign, the proof that all of Israel was both united and protected was the statement that everyone lived in safety under their own grapevine and their own fig tree. Micah and Zechariah use that same phrase to describe Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom.
The Bible is packed with fruit. The core message of the Parable of the Sower is abundant fruit. Our salvation is a fruit of Christ’s obedience “even to death on a cross.” When one sinner repents, God’s throne room echoes with the fruit of angelic rejoicing. New Jerusalem’s river will water the Tree of Life while it produces a different fruit each month.
I am privileged to communicate with many believers whose earnest desire is to show their gratitude for the tender mercy God has showered upon them. What better way to do so than to joyfully produce the fruit that He designed, redeemed, and empowered us to bring forth. Ephesians 2:10 says that He prepared our good work long before we existed.
I studied the life of Jesus under one of the finest Bible teachers who ever lived. When Glen Bourne explained the Parable of the Sower, he made certain we understood that a thirty-fold crop was marvelous production. During the decades since my freshman year in Bible college, I have often imagined the look on our Lord’s face as He approached His punch line. Did He laugh? Did He pause so those close to Him could see the joy in His face and the divine light in His eyes? Did He give the Father a wink before He dropped that bombshell? “Friends,” He said. Those of you who open your hearts and minds to God’s will, and accept the power of His Word, will produce a hundred fold or sixty. Even the worst you could do will astound you and everyone around you.
Pharisees and Scribes told people they were never good enough. Jesus told them they could delight their Creator by bearing good fruit. Soon, every religious leader would be looking for a job. They had no choice but to nail Him to an execution stake. That’s the other thing we are required—and privileged—to bear.
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Jim & Beverly Huskins are members of Obedient Heart Fellowship in McDowell County. Beginning July 2, 2022 Obedient Heart Fellowship will meet at 10:00 Each Sabbath (Seventh Day) at 3023 US 221 N. Marion, NC. 10:00 A.M. Call 828-460-7913 for info.
You can read more good Christian news from Jim HERE.
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