Meditation for Monday
And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 1 John 2:28
A Christmas tree and an apple tree are standing side by side, and you must tell me what is the best of the two. If it is judged on appearance, the Christmas tree will probably win, depending on who decorated it. If the decision is based on popularity, there is no contest, many more will swarm around the Christmas tree than the apple. So let’s look a little deeper and see which tree is the most productive. Here the Christmas tree must hang its head in shame because it does not produce anything of itself. Most of its loveliness and all of its popularity come from the things that are added to it by somebody else. In contrast, the apple tree produces fruit which, depending on the quality of the apples, will bring delight and satisfaction to the owner. This why the Christmas tree is tossed out with the trash on New Year’s Day while the apple tree is treasured for a hundred years. Every Christian is either a Christmas tree or an apple tree.
According to Philippians 1:11, God is looking for fruit in the life of the believer: ‘Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God’. This fruit is identified in Galatians 5:22,23: ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance’. As the Christian submits to the leading and teaching of the Holy Spirit, that Christian produces fruit that is precious to our Father. Like a good apple tree, the Christian grows and produces more fruit with each crop. God never saved you and me to make us showpieces that would appeal to the folks around us, but He saved us that He might receive fruit from us. As our text declares, it’s because He doesn’t want us to be ashamed when He comes to take us to Heaven.
What happens to the fruit that is produced in the life of an obedient Christian? Philippians 4:17 calls it fruit that abounds to our account. Ah, we have an account with God! A fruit account. And when Christ comes for us at the day of His rapture and at the Judgment Seat of Christ, that account will display whether we have borne fruit for our Lord. Will the basket be filled with lovely fruit that will endure as eternal treasure? Or will it be filled with the tinsel, the baubles, and the blinking lights of the world’s attractions and pleasures and toys? All that stuff goes into the trash and will be burned up as waste. Will you have a basket that will bring delight as you present it to the Lord, or a basket that will bring you shame to present?
If only we would abide in him, we would not be ashamed before Him at His coming. -Jim MacIntosh