Giant Fruit

Okay, so this giant ice cream cone is not actually "fruit," but there is a giant cherry on top and strawberries are probably in the pink ice cream, so technically, it counts as fruit!  This big treat can be found in the picturesque town of Grand Lake, Colorado.

There are many ways we can look at fruit and make applications to our Christian lives.  My point here is that it's not the size or the amount of the fruit that's important.  We could ask, is a watermelon or a blueberry showing better evidence of God's glory and workmanship?  One is large and one is small, but each is what God created it to be. 

It's not the size of the ministry or the number of lives you touch that signifies if you are being fruitful or not -- it's what you are called to do by God.  Let me compare two very different women:  one is Beth Moore, who has written numbers of books and studies, and travels all over the world sharing the word of God with hundreds of thousands of people.  She has a wide-ranging influence and is a blessing to many (including me).

Then, there is my mother Eleanor Julian, who was nearly 94 years old when she died last December.  Before she broke her hip, she regularly went out and visited shut-ins (even at the age of 90!), took flowers and vegetables from her garden to people, sent cards of encouragement, and prayed daily for others needs.  She had a much smaller range of influence, quiet and low-key, but she was faithful and touched the lives of people for Christ (including me).

Which of these women would be considered more fruitful in the kingdom of God?  It's not how much we do for Christ, but how faithful we are with what He has given us.  Like the servants in the Parable of the Talents, the one who earned five talents was just as highly praised as the one who earned ten talents.  Both were rewarded with the words of the Master, "Well done my good and faithful servant..."

God asks one thing from us -- to grow and be fruitful in the field in which He has placed us.  In Colossians, Paul writes, "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God" 1:10.