Fruit Bearing

A friend, to whom I sent a couple mangoes, from the mango tree in my yard, sent me this text. “Good morning … I am going to send you some fertilizer tomorrow, so that you can put it around the mango tree roots… cause I am looking for more mangoes next year.” When I read this I literally had a good laugh to myself and in light-hearted banter, I responded in this way. “Great! The mango tree needs it. Also something to keep the monkeys away.”  This was his response. “The only way to keep the monkeys away is to have no fruits on it.” I laughed even louder and thought, with tongue in cheek, how clever!

Why have I brought this before you, on this precious and privileged Lord’s Day Sunday? I have shared it, because what I was having fun with, what I was simply taking as good banter, was suddenly turned around by our Lord. Holy Spirit used this simple, almost unimportant communication between my friend and me, about mangoes on my tree, to straighten me up as it were. I was made to see beyond my common understanding, some deeply needed Spiritual truths. I have brought it before you for three powerful, life-alerting, truth-actualizing and faith-activating lessons.   

My friend, who has never seen my mango tree in fruit, knows that I have a mango tree that bears fruit, not just because he has been told, not even because he has heard about it, but because he has tasted of the fruit of my mango tree.

Life-alerting lesson. People must not just hear that I have a Saviour called Jesus, but they must taste of His life-satisfying fruit through me. It’s the same for you.

My friend knows that unless my mango tree is fertilized and attended to with due care and extra attention, it may not die, but it certainly will not increase in its bearing.   

Life-actualizing lesson. I can boast that I have Jesus with me and in me, but unless my relationship with Him is fertilized with un-wavering faith and unadulterated trust, the best fertilizers of healthy growth in Christ, the fruit borne in me will be very meagre, insipid and without abundance.  It’s the same for you.

My friend has tasted the mangoes from my tree and once his taste buds for these mangoes have been whet, he desires more. He is ensuring that I am wise and deliberate in tending the mango tree, not just to keep it bearing, but to have it bearing more mangoes so that he and others can get more mangoes next year.

Faith-activating lesson. Once others have tasted Spiritual fruit the Lord bears in me, they will crave and desire more. They will encourage, and inspire me to keep my faith fresh, healthy and forever new in Christ, so that I may bear more abundant fruit. As my faith, so shall my bearing be. It’s the same for you.  

Additionally, in my human jesting I mentioned how I had told my friend that while he was sending fertilizers for the mango tree, send something for the monkeys. They are not just a nuisance, but they are very dangerous, vicious, bold and arrogant in their wild behaviour. They do not just pick fruit off the trees, but they bite them and leave them contaminated, no use to anyone. They intimidate both people and their pets, dogs specially.

When I asked my friend to send something, I was simply joking, because these pests are not easily got rid of, save killing them. Our Lord used my friend’s response to show me undeniable wisdom and unadulterated truth. All I heard was this. The only way to keep the persecutors of My Word away from you, my fruit-bearing servant, is for you to bear no fruit. It is for you to be dead fruit, useless fruit, and stagnant fruit.

Wow! Heavy! Scary if you ask me, but perfectly true.

May we hear and take stock.