SUNDAY 29th
Ephesians 4:17-32
NIV (vv22-24) – ‘You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.’
ESV (vv22-24) – ‘. . . to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.’
To remind ourselves again, from Ephesians, I have suggested that as believers we are rooted in Christ, rooted in love, and rooted in truth. As a result, our being rooted in these three areas means that we should be bearing good fruit.
The fruit of Christlikeness
The fruit of love
The fruit of truth or truthfulness
While we have been doing our garden, I have purchased some dwarf fruit trees, and as I was exploring the various kinds, there were some available that would produce more than one specific type, for example a pear tree that would produce two types of pear. When I was living on the farm growing up we had an orchard and I had heard all about grafting one type into another and attempted to graft one kind of apple to another kind of apple tree, it worked and the tree bore two kinds. Spiritually we should be bearing or producing many kinds of fruit. In fact, the Bible even says that we have been grafted into the purpose of God through Christ Jesus. (Romans 11)
We need to be bearing fruit, I didn’t touch on the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 (‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law’) and won’t here except to ask the question are we bearing good fruit, through our being rooted and grounded well.
In these verses Paul shows what happens when we are rooted well, we put off the old self, and become new creatures in Christ Jesus, (vv22-24) and as we put off the old self, it leads to us putting off falsehood and being clothed in truth and truthfulness (vv25-31) and then it leads to us being forgiving toward one another which emanates from the fruit of love or loving kindness. (4:32 – 5:2)
Going back to our garden again, (sorry!) it was empty or barren just a few weeks ago, early in October I created some flower beds and planted a variety of flowers, pansies, primrose, cyclamen, to add some colour, but at the same time I planted some spring bulbs, tulips, iris, daffodils, snowdrops, bluebells, hyacinth, crocus, I was amazed to see how quickly some of them have rooted and are already showing up through the soil. (I noticed the first few on November 17th) Something in the soil must be right to help produce the growth. May we always ensure that the soil of our heart remains pliable and well manured for the fruit of righteousness, for the fruit of love / loving kindness, for the fruit of forgiveness, for the fruit of truth / truthfulness, for the fruit of Galatians 5:22-23, may our lives become like a well planted and a well-watered garden showing forth the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yesterday (Nov 19th – I am ahead in preparing devotions) I brought a bag of compost as I had more bulbs to plant in pots, it was a cold day, 3o according to the car temperature display and the compost was stacked outside at the store entrance in the cold, yet when I opened the bag and put my hand into the compost I was amazed as to how warm it was in the centre, it was a pleasant contrast to the air temperature and when we have the right ‘manure’ in our hearts, it doesn’t matter how cold and hostile the outside world is, (or maybe other believers toward us!) the inner warmth of the love of God should emanate from us.
I close this devotion with some verses from Colossians, which show the evidence of a life showing forth good fruit, ‘Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ (Colossians 3:12–17)