“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing,” John 15:5.
What is your favorite kind of fruit tree and what climate does it grow best in? I’d choose an apple tree grown in the sandy soil of the Sandhills as that’s also where I feel most at home.
Being “at home” spiritually-speaking is the first key to fruitful abiding. For, apart from Christ, we “grow” absolutely no fruit in our lives. One of the definitions of “ABIDE” is “ABODE” which means a place of residence; a house or home. In Christ, I am always “at home”–me in Him and He in me. As I put my roots down in Christ, He is solely where the fruit is. Here’s an ABIDE acronym I wrote with two prayer partners:
- A – Always Attached
- B – Being Spirit-led
- I – Intimate Union
- D – Daily Direction (in God’s Word)
- E – Epic Enjoyment
The second key to fruitful abiding is realizing that we are spiritually empowered by the same Spirit, same Lord, and same God to bear fruit through a variety of gifts, service, and activities (1 Cor. 12:4). The body of Christ is blessed in a powerful way with unity AND uniqueness!
The third key to fruitful abiding is discovering our unique spiritual gift mix. In his book Your Divine Design, Chip Ingram shows that Paul used the Greek word charismata/grace gifts, for “varieties of gifts,” (1 Cor 12:4) describing these as motivational gifts that generally align “with my most powerful spiritual passion.” Using Romans 12:6-8, Chip defines these (7) gifts:
Prophecy: Divine ability to proclaim God’s truth with power and clarity in a timely and culturally sensitive fashion for correction, repentance, or edification—“strengthening, encouraging and comfort” (1 Cor. 14:3). What went wrong here?
Service: Divine ability to attach spiritual value to accomplishing physical tasks in the body of Christ. It’s the ability to demonstrate love by meeting practical needs that facilitate other Christians in their ministry. What can I do to help?
Teaching: Divine ability to understand and give a detailed explanation of biblical truth. What is the truth on this issue? Where did you get that? Why?
Encouragement: Divine ability to come alongside people and reassure, strengthen, affirm, challenge them, and stimulate faith. What must be done to fix this? How can we move them to wholeness?
Giving: Divine ability to earn money, manage it well, and contribute wisely, cheerfully, and generously to God’s work. What can I give to meet this need?
Leadership: Divine ability to notice what needs to be done, set goals to get it done, then attract, motivate, and lead people who can accomplish the work of the ministry. What’s the goal? Where are we trying to go? How do we get there?
Mercy: Divine ability to minister cheerfully & appropriately to people who are suffering or undeserving and to spare them the consequences they might deserve. How can I make these people feel better?
When we were growing up, my mom used her teaching gift to tell my brothers and me stories with a spiritual truth during car trips, using us as the main characters. I followed suit and told many Buckabee stories to our kids. I recently wrote out my first one to help illustrate how the body of Christ can spring into action using their spiritual gifts.
Gifts into Action: The Buckabee Family Goes to Church
by Denna Busenitz, using our family as characters
It was Sunday morning and the Buckabee household was in a flurry of activity getting ready to attend church for the first time after moving into town. Tomato Dad and Melon Mom were trying to help their 5 children be on time for their first “fruits of the Spirit” class. Banana-Dan had “split” his jeans climbing a tree, Passion Fruit-Annalise was in the “tart-out” corner, Apricot-Abby was throwing toys at tender-hearted Strawberry-Naomi while Baby-Grape Miriam was needing a diaper change. Everyone finally loaded in the family “fruit bowl” and made it to church where greeters opened the doors and welcomed them in. Melon-Mom was carrying Baby-Grape and tripped as she stepped inside. Tomato-Dad caught her but not before the door caught her foot, causing her ankle to twist in pain. She dropped the diaper bag which tripped Strawberry-Naomi which caused Banana-Dan to lunge forward to catch her but his shoulder knocked into the nearby coat rack which caused the flower vase someone had just set on top to crash to the floor into a thousand shards of glass. Apricot-Abby reached down to pick up the largest shard and sliced her finger open. At the sight of blood, Strawberry-Naomi threw up and Passion Fruit-Annalise fainted.
As a church member watching this new family, how might you spring into action?
Encouragement immediately put their arms around the parents saying, “We’ll get through this together.” Mercy’s heart went right to the children, helping them feel comforted and cared for. Prophecy said, “I saw this accident happening a mile away,” and knew the mom tripped due to a broken door jamb. Giving offered on the spot to pay for a new jamb and Service offered to install it. Leadership asked everyone to move away from the broken glass, someone else to find first aid supplies, someone else to mop up the throw up, and then reached for a nearby broom to start sweeping up the shards. Teaching researched a new technique for moms carrying a baby/diaper bag through church doors and wrote a 3-step parent course, “Sunday Morning Planning So You Don’t Feel Rushed Trying to Make it to Fruits of the Spirit Class.”
Which of the (7) motivational gifts did you relate to the most in this story and why? Would other believers who know you well agree with your answer? The answers to these questions can be helpful in discerning what motivational gift aligns closest to your “most powerful spiritual passion.”
Prayer: Father God, teach me to fruitfully abide in You, realizing I can do nothing without You. Help me as I discover my gifts and empower me to use them for Your glory. Amen.
