John 15:16 "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
When flowers of a fruit tree come out it's a sign that the tree is about to bear fruit. The flowers look nice, they bring color and decoration to a tree, and at times even smell good. But that is not why the tree exists. It's just a sign that it's about to bear fruit. Eventually the flowers disappear, but when the fruit come out that's when the tree is at it's best! This is what everyone is waiting for...not the flowers, but the fruit. So as much as we may enjoy the sight of the flowers, it is the fruit that we must really be waiting for.
Jesus made it clear to His disciples - you did not choose Me but I chose you. How many Christians today really understand this truth? We did not choose to be Christians, He was the One who chose us to be His disciples. And He chose us for a purpose - to bear fruit, the kind of fruit that lasts, not the fruit that this world has to offer.
Have you noticed what the world's fruits are, what it likes to display? Financial and material prosperity, nice clothes, nice shoes, the latest gadgets, titles and positions in life, big houses, fancy cars, jewelry, etc. The more you have, the more "fruitful" you are.
What is regarded as fruit for so many should be seen as "flowers" for Christians. Sadly, many Christians today are after the flowers rather than the fruit.
How we come in prayer everyday asking the Lord to "bless" us, to give us a better life, allow us to have things, to buy things, to build things...and forget that the Lord chose us to bear fruit, the fruit that will last. He did not choose us to have flowers.
How many of us are more concerned about bearing fruit, who prioritize our spiritual fruit rather than material prosperity and gain in this life? I believe that many have fallen prey to the deception of the world that the fruit we must bear is material and financial.
How many Christians do you know who have compromised their faith and righteousness for profit in their business, for financial gain, for promotion in their office. How many Christians give up their fellowship with the Lord through prayer, meditating on God's word, attending Sunday services, fellowship with other Christians, serving the Lord in ministry - all for the sake of gaining fame and fortune, having a boyfriend or girlfriend, a husband or wife, a family. They claim a "personal relationship" with God, and yet openly neglect the very things that God desires from His disciples - the fruit.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
Phillipians 1:11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
How many of us would prioritize bearing these fruit in our lives, rather than enjoy the pleasures and "fruit" of this world?
Without realizing it we contradict the words of our Lord Himself who warned us:
Mat 16:26 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Are we using God to gain the whole world, and in the process losing our soul?
Let's stop living for the flowers. We were chosen to bear fruit. When we face Him in eternity our God is not going to check how much we earned, how big our house is, how many cars we have, how we prepared our children's future education...He's going to check our fruit, the fruit that lasts till eternity.
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