Ripe fruit is sweet, not sour

Some 350 brothers and sisters gathered for a divine service with Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider in Bălți on Saturday, 25 June 2016. He was in Moldova for four days and this was the first of two divine services he conducted there. He based his sermon on Luke 8: 14: “Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

Causes of immaturity

Jesus uses the parable of the sower to explain what the word of God is and how people treat it, the Chief Apostle said. The image of the thorns symbolizes people who hear the word of God but do not fully put it into practice. Under the effect of cares, but also under the effect of joy, the implementation falls by the wayside. The seeds are choked. The Chief Apostle highlighted three points.

• We should not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by the cares of everyday life. “These are people who come to Jesus and listen to His word, and they are interested. Earthly life, however, is still more important to them. After a while they realize that nothing has changed. They attend the divine services, but there is no development.”
• Do not use God only for material concerns. “Their whole prayer life revolves around earthly things; their relationship to God is based solely on this.” And thoughts such as: “Even though I go to church I became ill and my husband died,” choke our faith, the Chief Apostle said.
• Do not allow human imperfections to discourage you. “At first everyone was a faithful child of God, but then, with the years, you get to know the brothers and sisters so much better. Their shortcomings become a problem for us, sometimes we are even deeply disappointed.”

The process of spiritual maturity

Fruit is ripe when it has reached its full development, the Chief Apostle said, when it has lost its acidity and is a joy to eat and ready to be harvested and used.

Accepting the word of God in faith results in the growth of fruit, in spiritual development. But fruit is not only to grow, but also to mature and ripen. The Chief Apostle mentioned five spiritual fruits.

• Obedience: “The Pharisee who came to the temple was obedient. He was able to say that he kept all the commandments.” But ultimately he had forgotten that he needed the grace of God. “Having reached maturity, obedience adorns itself with humility. We act in accordance with the word of God, aware that we need His grace.”
• Imitation: “Peter once came to the Lord and said, ‘See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?’” (Matthew 19: 27). Peter still lacked maturity. “When imitation is mature, we follow the Lord out of love and not in order to receive a reward, a crown.”
• Trust: “I trust God to help me. He will put everything right.” This is a beautiful fruit, but one that has to grow and mature. “Maturity means that we can say as Jesus did: ‘Father, I don’t understand what you are doing, but I commend my Spirit into your hands’ (Luke 23: 46). That is absolute trust.”
• Knowledge: “The Lord sent the disciples to a village in Samaria, but the people there did not accept Jesus. When they noticed this they asked: “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” He rebuked them. They realized only later that Jesus loved sinners and wanted to save them.
• Love: “If we accept the word of God in faith, the result will be the fruit of love. We will love God and His Son more and more.” But also love has to mature, Chief Apostle Schneider said. “Love is mature when you love your neighbour too. Our love for God can never be greater than our love for our neighbour.”

The indicator that measures spiritual maturity

“Let us make sure that we do not only produce fruit, but that it is fruit that is ripe,” the Chief Apostle said in conclusion. “Ripe fruit is sweet and delicious, not sour. As long as our fruit is not ripe, we are not acceptable and pleasing to others.” We are rough and hard when it comes to our neighbour, and we judge and moralize. “But where the fruit has matured, there is understanding, gentleness, mercy, and clemency. There is no fanaticism but an open heart for the neighbour, even if he does not agree with us.”