IT'S HARVEST TIME
Genesis 1:27-28 - “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Farmers sow seeds with the expectation of reaping a bountiful harvest. Likewise, God created us in His image and likeness, and endowed us with unique gifts and ability, with hopeful expectation that our lives will yield bountiful harvest. Genesis 1:28 says; “Then God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply…” It is very clear from this verse that God’s will for us is to be productive and fruitful. We have been called to bear physical fruits that glorify God. He has empowered us for fruitfulness and multiplication through the fruits of our body (procreation), and has commanded us to have dominion on earth through the works of our hands (successful).
Jeremiah 29:11(NIV) - “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. God’s will for us is to prosper us and bless us until we are a blessing to the world. That was His words literally in Genesis 12; “In you, all the nations of the earth shall be bless.” God didn’t just want us to be bless and fruitful, He wants us to be super blessed and super fruitful. John 10:10.
We were not only called to bear physical fruits to glorify God in this world, we are also called to bear spiritual fruits that glorifies the Father. We have been called to do the good works of the Father. Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God’s desire is for us to be transformed into the image of Christ and be fruitful just as He was on earth. He wants us to bear fruit by leading lost humanity to Christ.
God the Father is the gardener (John 15:1), and He desires us to be fruitful. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). As branches cling to the vine, we cling to Christ, drawing our very life from Him.
Since God is hopefully expecting a bountiful multiplication of goodness from each of us, we can say we are His vineyard of good works! Every believer is empowered and commissioned by God, with the help of the Holy Spirit to get the job done to the glory of His name. Just like Jesus said in John 5:30, we can of ourselves do nothing. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to walk the walk of faith and bear fruits that glorifies God. When we embrace our responsibility of sharing the gospel, and allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate his fruits in us, our life will shine for others to see and we will be able to bear much fruits that glorifies the Father.
Galatians 5:22-24 - “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”. True fruitfulness does not start with physical manifestation, true fruitfulness begins in the heart with the fruits of the spirit. When we allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate his fruits in us, our inner fruits will affect our outward actions.
We will be able to show extraordinary love to this world, especially to those around us. We will be able to express our love through true forgiveness towards others. We’ll become gentle in our disposition and find joy even in little things. Situations will try our patience but the fruit of perseverance will change our perspective and help us to see the blessing in every situation. Self-control will soften us so that we can bear with one another even when we are going through similar situation. Gentleness and kindness will teach us to encourage one another. Goodness will help us to be gracious towards others, just like our heavenly father was gracious to us, and learn to give each other the benefit of the doubt even though we may get hurt.
Colossians 1:9-10(NIV)- "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
The result of spiritual fruitfulness is that as we grow, God is glorified and others will come to know Christ. The Holy Spirit helps us to mature spiritually. As we mature, others will begin to notice a difference in us also: how our short fuse has gotten longer; how we’re no longer so self-focused; how we seemed to have undergone an attitude adjustment; how we’re willing to endure if it helps another. In conclusion, in order for the walk of our faith in Christ to be effective and productive towards bountiful harvest, it is necessary to cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Philemon 1:4-6. It’s Harvest time!