This morning as I was reading today’s readings, the words of John the Baptist, in Matthew’s readings stood out.  He is confronting the Pharisees and Sadducees as they come to him.  He says:

8 Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9 Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

This got me to thinking about fruit worthy of repentance. What is that?  What does that mean?  

I imagine the fruit being talked about here is the Fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, etc. But, that was not what really got me to thinking this morning.

How do you bare that fruit?  How is the fruit produced?

To get more personal, how will I make sure that I bare that fruit?  What must I do today, and each day, to make sure that I am barely fruit worth of repentance?

So, I thought, how do produce fruit?  I’ve found that for me, the way my life is fruitful for God is when I am walking closely with God. When I am praying, reading, listening, seeking God, I find that I produce the fruit of joy and peace and love and mercy.

But, when I am not. When I’m too busy. When I don’t seek. When I get bogged down in my schedule. When I turn my attention to what I have to do; what is next, it is in those times I am not patient and kind and loving.

The fruit in my life is worthy when I am walking with the Lord as I ought. When I turn away, towards myself and my stuff, my fruit is not as it ought to be.

So, for me, I have to make myself slow down.  Pray.  Breathe.  Listen.

Today, no matter how busy you are.  No matter what your schedule is, you can take a few moments every so often to stop.  Breathe.  Pray.  Listen.  You don’t have to pray for 30 minutes.  But, you can stop.

And, if for nothing else, become aware to the reality that God is there with you, even then.

In short, I think the key to producing worthy fruit is to live with that awareness that God is there with us. Every moment.

Even now.