The Mark – No. 10 Bear Fruit

The commands of Jesus are the Mark, the target for the perfect life. To aim for and to hit the Mark is to conform to the image and likeness of God. To ignore, neglect, or miss the Mark is to sin. The commands provide stepping stones through earthly life, upon which the child of God survives tempests and deflects the boomeranging darts of pride. Adhering to the Mark aspiring immortals gain victory.

He removes every branch in Me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit.

John 15:2, John 15, 16

If you thought that you could go to God’s Kingdom to escape terms like the GNP (Gross National Product), think again. The acronym actually stands for God’s National Product and it is very important to Him. Productivity matters. Busy bees, busy ants, busy christs. God’s world is teeming with activity and continuous improvement. Perhaps the phrase, “May (s)he rest in peace” only applies to the time between when we leave the body and the Second Coming. I suspect that even on the new earth our fruitful productivity will be required to create the most magnificent world possible. This explains why fruitful branches are kept and unfruitful ones are burned. (Read John 15:6)

It is no wonder that the verb ‘to produce’ sounds like the noun meaning fruit? Fruit, such as apples, peaches, and figs are not only beautiful and tasty they also keep our bodies healthy. In addition to vitamins and fiber, fruit comes with a bonus: seeds.  Seeds are the source of even more fruit. Fruit is the most productive of God’s creation. Look around; to be productive, i.e. to  be fruitful is to be like God.

Reading the Bible and praying often is a grand way to learn and feel holy. But getting out in the world to follow Jesus Christ’s who taught, healed, fed, and raised the dead increases the GNP and builds God’s country. Are you in?