PLANTING SEEDS AND BEARING FRUIT
By: Missy Smith
There are a lot of different ways to enjoy apples. For example, you might enjoy a cup of apple juice or apple cider. Some children like to take applesauce in their school lunches. Have you ever had some tasty apple butter on your toast in the morning? Apple slices dipped in caramel are a delicious treat! My all-time favorite, of course, is apple pie!
Do you all know where we get apples? Apples come from apple trees. Well, what would you do if you planted an apple tree in your yard, you watered it, and took care of it and it never produced any apples? It wouldn’t be much good as an apple tree, would it?
The apple tree producing or not producing fruit made me think of Jesus and how he has “planted” us on this earth and he expects us to produce good fruit in our life.
What kind of fruit does God expect? Apples? NO!!!
The things he wants us to produce are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness. When He doesn’t see these things in our life, He is very disappointed — but He is willing to give us another chance.
Jesus wants to care for us and help us to be the kind of “fruit-bearing” children that God wants us to be. If we will trust in him, read his Word, and pray — he will help us to produce a lot of good fruit.
Then we can display HIS love by helping others in times of need.
Boredom Buster: Display fruit!!! As we are at home this week the people in need might be your parents as they try to teach you and work at the same time…..You can encourage them by being helpful when they ask you to do something. Maybe you could write a note to someone who is at home all by themselves like your grandparents or a neighbor. Possibly its sharing a toy with your sibling when they are starting to get bored playing with some toys over and over again. You could even ask your parents to help you send money to the church so that they can use it to share God’s love with others.
Whatever you choose to do when we bear the fruit of Jesus we can make a great impact on others’ lives for God’s glory because that is how you grow spiritual fruit!
Memory Verse: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Prayer: Lord, help us to be faithful to give of our time, energy and money to display the fruit you have given us so that others will see your love growing in our lives.