Fruitfulness Through Faithfulness

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:8

How do you define success in your life - naturally and spiritually? I am thinking that how we view success and how God views success may not be the same. We tend to see success or accomplishment in terms of quantity - something measurable.  But I think that God sees things in terms of quality. For example, you might be led to believe success as a Christian is measured by how many people you have led to the Lord. But just suppose God sees success in terms of how you have lived and loved.

"And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master" - Matthew 25:20-21

Reading those verses, it would be easy to draw the conclusion that success is quantifiable. God gave me 5 and I made 5 more so now I have 10. Yay me! But then one must ask - was the parable really about money or was it about  fruitfulness through faithfulness?

The Bible has much to say about material gain - none of it is good. It also has to say much about love, devotion, faith and obedience and it is all good. You may be a seed planter - a tender of the garden - or a harvester? But it is God who brings the increase, not us. (1 Corinthians 3:6) We don't get to choose our role, though we might try to. The role we fill is up to God. Our responsibility is to be found faithful in fulfilling that God-given role. And no matter what place you have been given in the body of Christ, God has called us all to do justly - doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. To love mercy - finding opportunity to show grace and mercy to others just as God has shown grace and mercy to you. And to walk humbly with God - submitted to the will of the Father - not demanding our own way - but acknowledging Him as God - living by faith - obedient to His call and direction in our lives.

We are fruitful when we are faithful. And that is praiseworthy from God's perspective. We are full of fruit when we are full of faith. The fruit of faith is good works. That's where five becomes ten to the glory of God and for the good of others. 

"This is the word of the Lord ..... Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." - Zechariah 4:6

From God's perspective you are fruitful because you are faithful.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone