Week 6 // How Do We Grow Fruit?
A fruitful Realm of Service is the result of a healthy Realm of Meditation. Our private health is all about our unseen, intimate relationship God, but the Realm of Service, our public life, is visible to everyone. As we continue to look at a tree, we see consistently and without fail, trees serve us everyday. They absorb pollution and give fresh oxygen, they provide fruit and transfer energy to the rest of the food chain, and they give up their lives for our shelter, warmth, and progress.
While trees have been the longest standing servants, Jesus came as the ultimate servant. He absorbed the sinful pollution of the world and provides life-giving salvation to all, He became the bread of life for everyone, and is the ark of salvation to anyone who wants shelter. He shows us that healthy trees reproduce, and healthy Christians make disciples.
Questions for Meditation:
- Why is our private life so important to our service?
- One of the ways that Jesus shows us to make disciples in the Great Commission is to step out in His authority. What is the difference between His authority and the authorities of this world?
- What are some reasons we don’t trust His authority at times?
- When Jesus calls us to speak out with His truth, what are some reasons that we don’t speak out?
- The Greek word for “teach,” and what Jesus implied with His instruction, was “to impart through a living example.” What are some ways we are called to share God’s truth as we live by example?
- What are some of the blessings of sharing God’s truth, and what are some of the consequences if we don’t?
- What is the promise that Jesus ends this passage with (Matthew 28:19-20), and how can we apply that promise to our everyday lives?
- If Jesus is calling us to be like a tree in the same way he was like a tree, what are some ways that we can a.) absorb pollution, b.) provide food to others, and c.) give up our lives for others?