The Yield of Fruit

UV 1399/10,000 The Yield of Fruit
And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
Ezekiel 34 v 27

We are trees of righteousness in this world planted by the Lord. We are not created for our own pleasure or happiness but the pleasure and joy of the planter. We are expected to bear fruit, good fruit and much fruit in the course of our lives. The trees or plants do not struggle or run away from its planter or the farmer. Jacob’s misguided zest for blessings caused him to struggle with God when all he had to do was to yield to Him, to be still and know that He is the Lord. A tree remains rooted where it is planted. It does not fight the will of the farmer but yields to the farmer’s will or plan for it. If we yield our wills and our lives to the Lord, He will increase our yield and break our yoke- the bands of curses, disease, sin, defeat and death. If we abide in Christ and His words abide in us, we will bear fruit and much fruit. A fruit tree is defined by the fruit it bears. Similarly, we are defined by the qualities of the Creator that we reflect in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, humility, self control and wisdom. A lone pineapple has been growing in our garden for the past many months. It is not yet ready or ripe for plucking. We can imagine the many types of minerals and nutrients and processes that are going on simultaneously and quietly within the pineapple to make it just right. We need to be similarly patient with ourselves, God and others. Often, we tend to look for fruit prematurely. Our impatience distorts the processes of fruitfulness. The Holy Spirit can turn a single tree of righteousness into a garden and a garden into a forest, implying that thousands would be saved by the work even in one life.

Somebody defined a fruit as a mechanism of seed dispersal. Our fruit is meant not for our own consumption or enjoyment but it is meant for others so that their lives are better off for it. Our fruit should disperse the seed of truth and righteousness. A young plant needs a fencing so that cattle or predators do not eat it up or crush it by the sheer weight of their feet. The Lord places a fencing around His children so that we will be safe in the land. The means He provides for our safety or security are ways of knowing that He is the Lord.

The anointing of the Spirit breaks the yoke of bondage that binds us to this world. It enables us to live as pilgrims and strangers on earth. The Lord breaks the bands of our yoke. He delivers us out of the hands of the wicked, the deceitful and the oppressive. We will realize through our many experiences in real life that the Lord alone is absolute in holiness, justice and love. He is the Great I Am. The absolute cannot be defined, refined or defied. The ultimate, indefinable, undefiable and absolute defined Himself in an indefinable way, " I am who I am." God defines Himself by who He is to the crown of His creation- mankind. Evolution or growth with change comes into play only after creation. We need to evolve towards the standards and character of the indefinable and absolute. The process of such growth is the measure of our fruitfulness. The lone pineapple growing in our garden has the glow of many hues at its base and around even as it is growing. If we are not glowing, we are not growing. We need to glow with the grace of the Lord. The anointing of the Lord produces a glow on our faces, hope in our hearts and strength of faith in our minds. As we meditate daily on the absolute attributes of the Lord, it rubs off on us a glow or radiance. The Hobson’s choice before mankind is yield or yoke- yield to the Lord and lose our yoke, struggle and bear the heavy yoke on our frail shoulders. The benefits we derive from being yoked to the Lord is that we will yield fruit increasingly and our yoke of bondage is broken. In addition, we are given safety or security as we grow and yield.

Prateep V Philip