I’m sure we have all seen the morning sun warming a roadside causing the dew of the night to rise as vapor. Mystically it ascends from the grass into the morning air waiting to become evening’s dew. Driving past such splendor this morning I thought of the warming effect of the Son of Righteousness shining on us. In Acts 2 the disciples heard a sound like the blowing of a wind and they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire resting on each other. The result was incredible.
Jesus once said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” He was speaking of lives changed by a relationship with Him. Just as the sun transformed the dew into morning vapor so association with Him matures our characters into His likeness. It is impossible for it not to occur. Just as filling one’s thoughts with mental trash will ultimately produce a trashy character so the opposite is true. We are what we eat. If we eat filth we grow filthy characters. If we feed on that which is uplifting, noble, positive and morally challenging we will ever so slowly elevate to what we are thinking about. We couldn’t stop it if we wanted. It is natural.
Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the branches and if you stay connected to the vine you will bear much fruit.” There is no such thing as a fruitless Christian. It is a truth we so badly need to understand. Computer experts have it down pat when they say, “Garbage in. Garbage out.” Let’s go for “Quality In. Quality Out.”
Written by Roger Bothwell on October 6, 2003
Spring of Life, 151 Old Farm Rd. Leominster, MA 01453