| Got Fruit? |
|
| |
 Sunday Pastor John kicked off the new message series, “Side Effects”. I think this is going to be a great series as we are invited to ‘look beneath the surface’ and really examine the attitudes and the motivations behind our actions.
I thought the opening clip in the orchard was excellent and really helped to set the tone. The point about how fruit is not produced for the tree itself, but for others was indeed a very important point that goes very counter to our ‘me-first’ culture.
It is also not uncommon in our results driven world to fall into the trap of believing that it is all by our own strength or ability that we accomplish anything for the sake of Christ. Hosea 14:8 is a great reminder that God alone is the source of our ‘fruit’. But the question still remains: What is being produced in your life? Gal 15:19-21 is a not so gentle reminder that the fruit we produce can be bad as well as good. Producing the good fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self control isn’t easy and does not happen by accident. We have to want it. We have to desire it with all that is in us. We have to pray and seek it from Christ. We cannot have it both ways. either we will produce good fruit or we will produce bad fruit.
 While perhaps not the best art work, Pastor John’s metaphor of the
iceberg - that was an iceberg, right ;-) was a great at symbolizing the
how the part of us that shows “above the surface”, our actions, is only
a small part of the total and how the part which is “beneath the
surface”, our attitudes, is actually much more significant.
I believe those of us in the IT world, tend to focus quite a bit on the part above the surface, both in ourselves and in others. Techies often don’t like to let the part beneath the surface show or be seen by others. That is why I think this will be a great series for us. We need to focus much more on that part which is beneath the surface - that part which is much more significant and controls the part which appears “above the water” to others.
I am looking forward to it. How about you?
|
|
Follow this blog
