Your Daily Slice

SHEVAT 21

Yielding Fruit

 
 

“For he shall be as a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That yields its fruit in its season …” (Ps 1:3)

 

With all the advantages of modern transportation, most of us have fresh fruit and vegetables available to us year-round.  It is unfortunate that most produce is treated with chemicals that are dangerous to our health; however, if we search for it, there is organic produce to be found as well.  And then, there are those of us who prefer to raise our own, which in turn, makes us rely on the changing seasons.  In the northern climates, strawberries do not grow well outside in the winter, and growing oranges is unheard of without a hothouse environment.

 

We are blessed with a greenhouse, and even though it is not heated, it does extend our growing season by an additional three to four months.  It does take effort and diligence, but the reward of enjoying fresh greens by the first week of April is certainly a treat.  Despite the increase that the greenhouse brings, we are still limited in what will successfully grow in it.  Corn, most all squash, and melons must be pollinated by insects in order to bear fruit; with the result being that we must wait and plant these at the appropriate season.

 

And so it is with us, those of us who call ourselves by the Name of the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  While some of us may be planted in a ‘warm’ environment that will grow anything year-round, others of us need a greenhouse type environment to produce the growth and the fruit that we should be bearing.  Nonetheless, we all have fruit that will not mature without being ‘pollinated’ by others.  Truthfully, I would say that all the fruit of the Ruach – the Set-Apart Spirit - (Gal 5:22-23) fall into this category, for how would we learn to be patient without that someone we need to be patient with?  And what of kindness?  Yes, it is possible to be kind to oneself, yet not being willing to stretch out a hand in kindness to another is surely the height of selfishness.

 

Our fruit are meant to be ‘inspected’ and ‘picked’ by those around us.  However, it is only as we interact with others that our fruit will reach the level of maturity, in its season, as our Father desires.  And is not all of this bringing us closer to becoming the person that our Elohim will want to spend eternity with?

 

“Iron is sharpened by iron, And a man sharpens the face of his friend.” (Pro 27:17)

 

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