We all have expectations, some little, some big. Either way I think we can agree that they exist. As I look toward this year with hopeful expectation both for my personal life and the life of ZION, I couldn’t help but consider how expectation is framed in a Biblical context.
John 15:5 ESV – “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
If I am in Christ then my expectation is clear. I WILL bear fruit. Which is exciting when you think about it. I personally have an unattractive habit of expecting the worst. If I am not careful, rather than focusing on the positive things that may come through the passage of time, I focus on the negative. But I don’t have to, and neither do you.
If I am in Christ then my expectation is clear. I WILL bear fruit.
If Christ is the root, you can guarantee a few things:
- There is no healthier root to grow from, and if the root is healthy the branch is too.
- When the branch is healthy and strong the fruit will be good.
I, we, can expect that with Christ as our root, we will grow, flourish and be heavily productive. It may take some heavy pruning, which will likely be very uncomfortable, but ultimately, we can expect to bear good fruit, plural, and you can expect to see that good fruit in multiple area of your life.
Galatians 5:22-23 ESV – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
No matter what our circumstances are our fruit will be noticeable, if not to ourselves then to others. When we react to a positive situation with the fruit of the Spirit (As mentioned above in Galatians 5) people notice, and how much more so do people notice when we react to negative news with those same fruit.
No matter what our circumstances are our fruit will be noticeable
I have an expectation, not just for me, but for you too. As you grow your relationship with Christ and learn how to live with and like him, you will produce some incredible fruit. Not just one of the fruit, all of them.
This year I encourage you to start expecting Christ’s fruit to show up in your life. Expect to see joy. Expect to see peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Expect to see them. Because your attitude of expectation will guide you to accept nothing less than the fruit of Christ, and we all know that to get those fruit we need to be in him.