As
Christians we have been chosen to bear fruit. But at the same time challenges
and difficulties come into our lives in one form or the other. Many of us may
be experiencing this today. From family, to work, to school, there might be one
hurdle or another that needs to be overcome. So how do we continue to bear
fruit even in the midst of these challenges? Though this is a difficult topic Jesus
reminds us In John 16:33 that in this world we will have tribulation. But we
must take heart because He has overcome the world.
In our main text, St. Peter was writing to the
church in the Roman provinces, in present day Turkey, during a time of
persecution in his role as the head of the church in Rome. Its interesting that
in the midst of the hardship Peter first and foremost decided to remind them of
what they already had as believers in Christ. In vs 3-4, he reminded them of
the living hope they have in the risen Christ who has given them an
imperishable inheritance. Why was this reminder important? One would have expected
that the first point in Peter’s letter might be to empathize with the
persecuted people, or maybe show them some survival techniques, rather he chose
to first remind them of who they belong to, who they are and what they already
have.
During the
time of challenges it is easy to lose sight of the victorious life Christ has
already secured for us on the cross. You can imagine that the daily struggles
of surviving persecution might constantly be in the forefront of the minds of
these persecuted Christians. Peter saw the need to first bring back their focus
to the foundation of the faith; Jesus. To continue bearing fruit even in the
ups and downs of life, we must fix our eyes on Jesus. The Lord Himself reminds
us in John 15, that we the branches, need to remain in Him, the vine. To remain
always takes an effort especially when there are other factors trying to gain
our attention. Peter is drawing our minds to the need to spend even more time
in prayer, scripture study and fellowship during times of difficulty in order
not to lose sight of Jesus and His work on the cross for us. He reminds us of the
need to keep in mind that we have access to an unfading inheritance, kept in
heaven for us which is shielded by God’s power. Inheritance bestowed from a will
is always finite. Either its supply reduces or its value diminishes. However St.
Peter is reminding us of what we already have, our heavenly inheritance which
is guarded by God Himself. What a blessing!!
In Ephesians 1, St Paul reminds us of this
inheritance: We have been blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual
blessing, in Christ we have been chosen to be holy and blameless in His sight,
in Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins and in
Him we have the promised seal of the Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing
our inheritance. In order to remain
fruitful during challenges we have to remind ourselves of these truths. We have
to remind ourselves of who we are, whom we belong to and what we have.
Secondly,
St. Peter reminds us in vs 6-7, that our challenges are a means to an end and
not an end in itself. In verse 7, Peter comments that our challenges should be
seen as a way of refining our faith, bringing honor and praise to Jesus. We see
this lived out in the lives of the apostles as we read in the book of Acts,
where after several floggings and imprisonments the apostles still moved ahead
spreading the gospel with a renewed resolve. Their faith was strengthened to
continue to bear more fruit. To be fruitful in challenging times, we need to consider
our challenges as opportunities for growth in the faith. In Hebrews 11 we read
of the great women and men of faith who had travailed through several
conditions to bring glory to God through their fruits. From Abraham to David we
see how holding on during challenges enabled them to grow from strength to
strength in their faith, bearing the fruits we now see and read about. We see this same mindset in St Paul. He
writes in Romans 5:8: “Not only so, but we[c] also
glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Again he states in Romans 12:12 “Rejoice
in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Its necessary that
we have this outlook in our lives that we see our challenges as opportunities
for growth which lead to fruit bearing bringing glory to the Lord.
Thirdly, to be fruitful in the midst
of challenges we need to remain connected to the community of believers. St
Paul writes in Hebrews 10:25 “25 not giving up
meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and
all the more as you see the Day approaching.” The need for community
cannot be over emphasized. Right from the beginning of the church, in the book
of Acts, we read of how believers met for fellowship with the breaking of bread
and the reading of scripture. The essence of community living is seen highlighted
throughout scripture. We see this sense of community among Jesus and His
disciples right to the early church communities established by the apostles as
they moved evangelizing from place to place. By remaining connected to the
community we receive encouragement to move ahead in our times of difficulty
through the sharing of testimonies and communal prayer. The community of faith
serves as a huge resource for pulling through challenging times to bear fruit
for the kingdom. A typical example of the effect of community living can be
seen in the life of Barnabas. We read in the book of Acts 9 of how Barnabas
stood by Paul in his time of difficulty when the rest of the disciples were
afraid to associate with him due to his history. Because of the action and
encouragement of Barnabas, Paul became an integral part of the mission of
spreading the gospel. I pray that we will become even more, a people of
community, that our challenges will drive us closer even as we share and
encourage one another, so that as a unified body of Christ, we will bear lasting
fruits for His glory.
Lastly, to remain fruitful in the
midst of challenges, we must learn to totally rely on the Holy Spirit. In John
14 Jesus reminds us that He will not leave us as orphans. He will send us His
Spirit, and we see this being fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Brothers and
sisters, we have the Holy Spirit, our comforter and our advocate. He speaks to
us and we must learn to listen and rely on Him. The saving action of the Holy
Spirit is seen so many times in the scriptures. We see this clearly in the book
of Acts where a persecuted and fearful group of disciples are transformed to bold
bearers of fruits for the kingdom. From Peter to Paul, we read about how on several
occasions the Holy Spirit ministered to and used them as vessels of honor to
bring hope and deliverance even in trying moments. Today the Holy Spirit is
still available to us. Its crucial that we rely on Him just as the fathers of
the church did. In our difficult moments we must choose to hold on to Him and
not focus on the situation around us. We must not give up.
My sisters and brothers, we have been
called to a life of bearing fruit yet our lives may be filled with one
challenge or another. By focusing on Jesus, spending time with the community of
believers, having the right mind set in approaching our challenges and relying
totally on the Holy Spirt, we can continue to bear fruit even in the midst of
it all. I pray that the Lord will continue to give us the strength and the
resolve to bear fruit for Him regardless
of the circumstance. Amen.
