I'm sure most of us remember that in GCland, "fruit" = "converts". If people around you aren't being saved left and right, you're not being "fruitful". If the people you've been assigned to shepherd aren't being "fruitful" (by that definition), then neither are you.
That sort of attitude, wrong as it is, sorta gets inside you. I tend to be tough on myself anyway, and this is just one more tool in that box.
In that light, it was
wonderful to read today's "Max Lucado Daily In Christ". I'm pasting it below, for all of us to think about and drink in. I'm sure Max won't mind.
“I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last.” John 15:16
A good gardener will do what it takes to help a vine bear fruit. What fruit does God want? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). These are fruits of the Spirit. And this is what God longs to see in us. And like a careful gardener, he will clip and cut away anything that interferes.
-B-
