If you are blessed with a “green thumbâ€�, then you probably thrive with gardening. Watching your seeds grow into seedlings and then full-grown plants and trees that bear various kinds of fruits and vegetables. I myself have never had the privilege of seeing more than green leaves but I love seeing the fruit that others grow â€" especially when they share it with me! Recently, my sister and her family took to planting fruit trees and a garden, and as we enter summer, the limes and lemons, apples and avocados, are showing off. In the garden, however, the carrots are not so proud. Having been planted in shallow soil the normally long, slender vegetable has grown short and a bit, well, fat! Upon first inspection, the long greenery growing out of the soil seemed to suggest a healthy crop, so its actual growth has proved awkward!

This makes me think of Christians â€" you know, the ones that go to church every Sunday, and even participate in weekday activities…but that’s it. They don’t spend time in the Bible and so they boast plenty of “greeneryâ€�, but their fruit is lacking. You see, God’s Word is what helps us grow spiritually and when we plant our seeds in God’s Word our roots grow deep, allowing us to bear full and healthy fruit. We can look right on the surface, but instead of boasting full grown fruit, it’s shallow and “fatâ€�.

God wants us to bear fruit; full grown and healthy fruit. Jesus made this clear when He said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciplesâ€� (John 15:8). But most of all, He wants us to know Him and experience Himâ€"He wants us to develop the fruit of intimacy; rooted and growing in Him. All other fruit in our lives flows from this first fruit, and when we bear this fruit, we are fulfilling our ultimate purpose. But when we choose to live our Christianity on our own, the fruit we bear becomes stunted.

You’ve already accepted Christ, now spend time with Him and allow the fruit you bear come forth full and abundant, boasting that your roots are grounded deep in God’s Word. No half-grown, fat fruit here!

Suggested Prayer: Dear Lord, You created me to bring forth fruit, your fruit, growing from seeds that have been rooted in You. Help me to spend time in Your Word and always abide in You. Let my fruit be a testimony of my relationship with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

1. John 15:8 (CSB).

Today’s Encounter was written by: Veronica B.