On my day off this week, I picked up my two grandsons, Caleb & Ethan, and went over to my parents’ house (their great-grandparents) to pick oranges off their orange tree.  It’s always fun to watch young children pick fruit and vegetables in a natural setting rather than just buying food at a grocery store.

It brought back many memories.  First, I remembered picking blackberries with my own children every summer in Washington.  They grew everywhere.  And sometimes before dinner, my wife would send our kids out to the backyard to pick some tomatoes for a salad, or some strawberries for dessert.  Then, I remembered back even further to my own childhood when I picked apricots, pears, grapes, and figs in my own backyard.

But it also reminded me that, as Christians, we are to grow and produce fruit ourselves.  Jesus is the tree (or vine) and we are the branches on which fruit grows.  The amazing thing is that it doesn’t take much work on the part of a branch to grow fruit.  The branches just have to remain on the tree.  Of course, some sunshine and rain are helpful, too.  As a Christian, I don’t work at growing fruit.  I simply stay connected to Christ, add a little sunshine from God’s Word, and water it with some prayer.  Then, the Holy Spirit does the rest!  He produces the fruit.

Are you growing some fruit – love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, etc.?  Are others able to pick some fruit off the branches of your life?

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for Your Holy Spirit’s work in my life.
As I rub shoulders with others,
may they see in me the fruit of Christ-like character.
In Jesus’ name, Amen!