A Tree and its Fruit
The saddest part of a satisfying spiritual life is having no one to share it’s fruits with.
The final thing that will steal the fruit stored up in our hearts is a lack of withdrawals from our hearts.
Notice, the fruit of a tree is never for the benefit of the tree. The fruit gives life to those around it.
The fruit we develop in our lives is for God’s glory and the benefit of others, not our own.
Still, many of us march on as if to be some sort of solitary saint.
The final piece we need to have in order to have an abundance of good things stored up in our hearts is to begin to give and share with others.
Rather than having secrets of how good God has been to us, we need to openly display who He is and how good He has been to us(Matthew 5:14-16).
This will take transparency, honesty, and vulnerability.
Applications
As in Part II, I don’t claim this to be an easy exercise, I claim this to be a fulfilling exercise.
Sharing our faith with others is what will make eternity enjoyable.
Would we want to spend eternity by ourselves or with those we deeply cared for?
Wouldn’t we be more satisfied with a life that made sacrifices for others?
Let us, out of the abundance of our hearts, feed and fill those we care for, influence, and interact with.
I know this seems like an obvious conclusion but if we did an assessment of each of our relationships, how are we really doing?
Are our relationships all we hoped for?
What about with our co-workers? Or how about with our spouse or significant other?
What’s the next level of love and openness we can declare and demonstrate to those around us?
Do we have friends we feel we would be willing to die for(John 15:13; 1 John 3:16)?
If not, who could we begin to trust in a deeper way? Who could we demonstrate love to today?
Action Steps
Finish the following sentences:
- I will reach out and express my gratitude towards the following people in my life by…
- Person one…
- Person two…
- Person three…
- I am grateful for them for the following reasons…
- The people I could begin to trust are…
- The people already in my life who I could begin to open up to more are…
- I want fulfilling relationships in my life because…
- I will begin to share the truth about my faith with the following people by…
Prayer
God,
give us strength and courage to fight for deeper connections with others.
Help us to navigate how to be a better friend when trials and/or tension arises.
Deposit in us the love we need today in order to better love those we care for tomorrow.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
An Abundant Heart Part I: Mindset
