I pray that you and yours are well. I pray, too, that the presence and grace of God are kissing your soul on these quieter summer days. There's something so encouraging about a God who is interested in our individual lives. It encourages and empowers me, and I'm sure many of you. God's presence and the moments when it seems that God is really with us encourages us to be our best selves and to make a difference by the way we live; by the way we bear good fruit.

 

In the past couple of weeks, I've been thinking a lot about good fruit and not so good fruit. Some of you know that I'm a gardener. I'm not a good gardener, but I love getting my hands into the earth. I marvel, year after year, that one little seed or one little tomato plant can grow and bear fruit. This year, the earth and the weather have conspired to produce such an abundance of good fruits that I'm working hard to keep up.

 

Gardening is an endless fascination of mine because it's one place where I know I'm participating in God's creative activities in the world. I am sharing in creating something good where there was nothing before, or where there might have just been weeds. It reminds me, too, that all of us are participating in God's creative activities in our lives and among the people we meet each day. A little planning, some hard work on our part, and a lot of God's enlivening Spirit can create so much goodness, so much good fruit.

 

Jesus says that the fruit we bear is an indication of the kind of person we are and the life we're living. We bear bad fruit when we're selfish, self-centered, or separated from God. We bear good fruit when we're connected to God, seeking the good of others, and using the gifts that God has so freely given us. We're loved by God either way, but the idea that we can share in God's creative activities in the world and bear good fruit gives purpose to life and will make a difference in the world God is creating.

 

Invite God into your life in some way and enjoy being part of God's creative activities. If we will, then we will bear much good fruit.