“Thus, by your fruit you will be recognized.” ~ Matthew 7:20
Dear People of St. David’s,
I pray that you and yours are well on these warm August days. I pray, too, that the presence and grace of God are kissing your soul and filling you with a sense of just how loved you really are.
There’s something so encouraging about a God who is interested in our individual lives. It encourages and empowers me, and I’m sure many of you, to take up your life and face the challenges and opportunities that come for all of us. God’s presence and grace in our lives brings peace and it brings encouragement. God with us always empowers us to be our best selves and to make a difference by the way we live, by the way we bear good fruit. That’s what grace is all about.
I’ve been thinking a lot about good fruit and not so good fruit these past few weeks as my garden is overproducing in some areas and underproducing in others.
As some of you know, I’m a gardener. I’m not a good gardener, but I love getting my hands into the earth. I marvel, year after year, that one little seed or one little tomato plant can grow and bear fruit. Gardening is an endless fascination of mine because it’s one place where I know I’m participating in God’s creative activities in the world. Gardening lets me share in creating something good where there was previously either only weeds or nothing at all. It reminds me that all of us are participating in God’s creative activities in our lives and among the people we meet each day. A little planning, some hard work on our part, and a lot of God’s enlivening Spirit can create so much goodness and good fruit. It can be life changing.
Jesus says that the fruit we bear is an indication of the kind of person we are. Therefore, the fruit we bear reveals the kind of life we’re living. We bear bad fruit when we’re selfish, self-centered, and separated from God. We bear good fruit when we’re connected to God, seeking the good of others, and using the gifts that God has so freely given us. God love us either way, but sharing in God’s creative activities in the world and bearing good fruit gives purpose to life and makes a difference in the world God is creating.
Look at your life to see where you are bearing good fruit and keep at it. Look at the areas of your life where there may be a few weeds or nothing at all. Clear the weeds and plant: tend and water prayers, good thoughts, and helpful, loving activities. If we will, then we will connect intimately to God’s creative work and bear much good fruit.
Grace and Peace,
The Rev. W. Frank Allen
Rector
Image credit: Berries growing in St. David’s Good News Garden. Photo by Dale Power.