Lasting Fruit

When you think of something "bearing fruit," what do you think of? For me, I picture a huge, luscious tree; it's leaves a rich, dark green. It's full and healthy and the fruit hanging from it is just the same. Gravity pulls the tree's branches toward the ground due to the ripe fruit that has matured on its ends. I don't picture a single tree either--I picture a whole grove of trees, all growing together to produce more of what they were created to produce.

This concept of bearing fruit has been a central theme in the processing that I have done in regards to my future this summer. In several of my own quiet times these last few months, God has brought several verses about bearing fruit across my path. The first of which is found in the 15th chapter of the gospel of John: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."

A good portion of John 15 deals with bearing fruit, but verse 16 (above) grabbed my attention. God appointed us to go and bear fruit that will last. The biggest difference between this idea and the picture I painted above is that the literal fruit on the literal trees don't last. They either will be picked or fall off and both fates don't lead to bearing more fruit. The verse in John, however, says that we have been chosen by God to do just the opposite--we have been called to bear fruit that will last.

Well, that's all well and good but what does that mean? What does it mean for us, in our present day, to bear fruit that will last? These were some of the questions that I tackled this summer as I took time to really seek God about what He may have for me in the future. What I found came in two parts as I spent some time in John 15. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus says that we need to remain in Him because apart from Him we can do nothing--no branch (us) can bear fruit apart from its vine (Jesus).

So if I try to do anything in the future apart from Jesus, it would only be in vain. I have to resist my human tendency to take my future into my own hands and pursue the option that is most comfortable. Instead, I have to continually be on my knees, asking God to reveal His will to me and to take my desire to control under His sovereign authority. I have to resist the urge to be swept up in the tides of what the world tells me is acceptable to do with my degree. Instead, I have to be willing to be moved and shaken in the direction that God wants me to go. This is what it means to remain in Jesus--and if I choose to be the branch that stays attached to the Vine, I will bear much fruit.

This leads me back to verse 16: "...but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last." Alright, alright we get that we're supposed to bear fruit, but what is this fruit that will last? This took me back to the end of the book of Matthew to what is known as the Great Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." I think this is where bearing fruit that will last starts. Jesus commanded the disciples (and us!) to go and make disciples of all nations--talk about something that will last! With any person that you can share Jesus with, whether they decide to become a Christ-follower or not at that moment, you have planted a seed. And that will stay with them until it is time to be harvested.

But how does this tie into my processing about my future? Well, if I have been appointed and chosen by God to bear this fruit that will last, whatever I choose to do with my life must allow me to do that. Now, this doesn't mean that the only way to bear this lasting fruit is to go into ministry--it could mean that, however, it also could mean that God wants you to use your specific gifts and talents in an industry where He has plans for you to bear lasting fruit there. I think the question ultimately is this: What is the best way that I can I bear fruit that will last, using all of the gifts and talents that God has blessed me with? When we can answer this question honestly friends, I think we will begin to live in the freedom of knowing where God is calling us.

I spent time this summer trying to answer that question honestly and it was hard. What made it so difficult was that I began to hear God speaking to me that where I can best bear lasting fruit cannot be found in the journalism world. It is true that God has given me many talents that make me cut out for the printed media, but as I began to think about all of my other gifts and passions, it became rather clear. When I'm honest with myself friends, I'm not really passionate about journalism. I love how the profession can use good reporting and writing to right wrongs and bring justice to unjust situations, but that is only where a small corner of my heart lies. I have discovered this summer that the majority of my heart beats with passion at the thought of working with students and empowering them to accomplish big things for the kingdom of God. I'm going to be honest with you, this is the last place I thought I would ever find myself. It has been a little over a year that I was asked to consider going on staff with InterVarsity, and one year ago I had laughed at the possibility. But alas, here I am.

I'm scared. I'm ecstatic. I'm carefully choosing my words for when I talk to the members of my family about this abrupt change in careers. But it is in this crazy chasm where I must trust God, that I am confident I have been appointed and called to this line of work where I can bear fruit--fruit that will last.