Gifts That Bear Fruit

Jesus said in John 15: 8:  "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."  As we come into the Christmas season, we start to think about gifts. What could we buy for our kids, grandkids, relatives, spouse, and special friends. For me, this process seems to have become more complicated as the kids get older. Tastes change. Color preferences change. Interests change.  I have found myself looking at the shelves in the stores and thinking, “Should I get this? Should I get that?”  And yet the process is enjoyable and gift-giving is a blessing.

But . . . I do believe that there are “gifts” we can give not only at Christmas, but all year round that have no questions or wonderings around them!  

The Word of God tells us to “bear fruit” . . .  and lots of it. We can do this daily by bringing people to Christ, touching the lives of others with encouragement, meeting needs, and remaining in the Vine. All of this type of giving is part of “bearing fruit.”

Jesus said in John 15: 8 that when we produce much fruit, we are His true disciples. And, this brings great glory to the Father.  Would you explore with me now a different approach to “gift giving” than what we would normally consider during the Christmas season? These gifts I am talking about do not cost money. But they may require us to “say” or “do” something to produce the gift in our lives. We may need to change something or work on something in our lives to have the gift available to give to others.

Luke 6: 38 NKJ says, ^“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

The New Living Translation of this verse says, ^“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

This verse says that when we give, our gift will return to us in full:  pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into our lap!  Wow!  It sounds like we need to learn to give!

Let’s look at SEVEN GIFTS that we can develop in our own lives and then have ready to give to others to bless them that will in turn bear much fruit to glorify our Father and bring blessing to our lives as well.

Gift # 1:  The Gift of Forgiveness

Matthew 18: 23-35 talks about the parable of the unforgiving servant.

•  It was a time of settling accounts.
•  The Master wanted his money.
•  The servant couldn’t pay so he begged for mercy.
•  The Master forgave him and let him go.

But, that forgiven servant refused to forgive someone else. He then held his own worker in bondage and refused to forgive.  When the original owner found out, he threw the ungrateful servant in prison until he paid his own original debt.

So in light of this parable, this Christmas let’s be ready to forgive.  Lord, I choose to:

•  Forgive the person who looked at me wrong.
•  Forgive the person who hurt my feelings.
•  Forgive the person who disagreed with me.
•  Forgive the person who betrayed me. 

May we all purpose to develop and offer this Gift of Forgiveness.

Gift # 2:  The Gift of Patience

In Hebrew “patience” means to bear or to suffer. In Greek it means hopeful endurance.

Patience:

•  Bears pains or trials calmly or without complaint
•  Accepts or tolerates delay – long lines at the store, delayed arrivals, etc.
•  Accepts or tolerates trouble
•  Accepts or tolerates suffering 

Patience is not the ability to wait but more so, the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting!  It is a character quality of bearing annoyance, misfortune, complaint, irritation, and loss of temper. It is the ability to suppress restlessness and delay annoyances.  Patient people “wait it out” with grace.

Could you now look up and read Romans 15: 1-7.   Note that Romans 15: 5a says, “Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus…”  This is followed up by the exhortation of verse 7: “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.”  We are to accept each other (be patient with one another) just as Christ has accepted us.

Isaiah 40: 28-31 reminds us of the power of patience. “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. ²⁹ He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. ³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, ³¹ But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

May we all purpose to develop and offer this Gift of Patience. 

Gift # 3:  The Gift of Understanding

The gift of understanding revolves around learning to see the whole picture.  Solomon knew that in order to be a good leader he would need WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING. He had watched his father rule and had observed the necessity of these qualities.

We read these words of Solomon in 1 Kings 3: 5-9, ⁵ At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” ⁶ And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ⁷ Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸ And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. ⁹ Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours? 

Solomon prayed for UNDERSTANDING – an ability to see the whole picture as he went about his responsibilities and his encounters with others. He knew the value of being able to understand all the details regarding the situations he faced.

May we all purpose to develop and offer this Gift of Understanding. 

Gift # 4:  The Gift of Encouragement

We should always be ready to give encouragement, not discouragement (no courage). 

Proverbs 15: 23 NLT reminds us, “Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!”  Proverbs 15: 28 NLT continues, “The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.” 

So according to these two verses, each of us should be THINKING before we speak! We also should be making sure that our mouth does not overflow with evil words. Let’s always remember that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Life-giving words are words of encouragement!

May we all purpose to develop and offer this Gift of Encouragement. 

Gift # 5:  The Gift of Time

We need to be careful how we live our lives and endeavor to not live foolishly but like those who are wise.  Time is precious!

We read in Ephesians 5: 15-16 NLT, “¹⁵ So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. ¹⁶ Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”

Making the most of every opportunity means making effective use of our time. What do you think “making good use of our time” looks like?  What specifically does it look like in your life?

In Matthew 25: 34-50, Jesus talked about taking time for others. Read through this passage and observe some of His examples of taking time for others.  He said, “I was hungry and you fed Me. I was thirsty and you gave Me drink. I was a stranger and you gave Me a home. I was naked and you clothed Me. I was sick and you visited Me.”   

In Luke 10 we read about the Good Samaritan who saved a life by giving up his time … and his resources.  Sometimes the gift of time is a sacrifice and costs us.  

May we all purpose to develop and offer this Gift of Time.

Gift # 6:  The Gift of Grace

We all need to learn and practice giving the gift of grace to others.  Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound! 

We get better, not bitter, by extending grace to others. This includes the focused effort of letting go of wrongs done to us.  2 Corinthians 13: 14 NLT says, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 

May we all purpose to develop and offer this Gift of Grace. 

Gift # 7:  The Gift of Love

Love is patient.  Love is kind.  Love does not envy.  Love does not boast.  Love is not proud.  Love does not dishonor others.  Love is not self-seeking.  Love does not keep a record of wrongs.  Love does not give up.  Love never loses faith.  Love is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

May we all purpose to develop and offer this Gift of Love.

In closing, there are many other gifts that we should cultivate in our lives so that we have them ready to give to others and continue to “bear much fruit.”  But this Christmas, let's consider developing and giving unconditionally these seven as a starting point.  Would you join me in developing and giving forgiveness, patience, understanding, encouragement. time, grace, and love?

Our Prayer Today:   May the Lord Jesus cause all of these gifts to increase in our lives this Christmas and New Year. May we all overflow with love and grace for others and bear much fruit as we sow good gifts into the lives and homes of others.  Lord, may You grant us:

•  The grace to forgive
•  The ability to wait with the right attitude
•  The openness to look at all sides of an issue
•  The power and words to be an encourager
•  The wisdom to manage our time well
•  The grace to grant mercy
•  The love to endure all hardships
•  The ability to keep the faith 

Dear God, let Your amazing love fill us all today and every day! Amen

Gifts That Bear Fruit . . . a poem by Dr. Sharon Predovich

Lord let me bear fruit this season, and let it be for all the right reasons.

Let my heart choose to forgive, so that I am free to live.

Let my heart be patient with others in my life, even when they irritate and cause me strife.

Let me at least understand their ways, and learn to tolerate their attitude these days.

Let me be ready and willing to encourage the lost, even if it’s not easy and does have a cost.

Let my time be used wisely and well, so no one is left out or headed into hell.

Let Your grace and love shine through my soul, so all that I touch and meet will know

That Your love has filled me and made me whole.  That’s my Christmas Goal!