In our youth, my brother and I explored the Anderson Apple Orchard in Mooresville, Indiana, every fall, looking for the biggest and best red and ripe apples. My brother even showed me how to take an apple and rub it quickly up and down on my jeans to get the prettiest sheen. It was a shiny, picture-perfect apple ready for display in a fruit bowl. We left the orchard with a basket full of beautiful, perfect apples as we stepped over other apples that had fallen to the ground and were no longer edible. He and I had so much fun picking apples together, knowing that soon these apples would become canned apples, apple jelly, and whatever wonderful, tasty creation our mother would make.
In nature, fruit stands out both visually and naturally. Each type of fruit possesses unique characteristics such as smell, taste, appearance, and texture. These attributes indicate the specific plant or tree from which they originate. When selecting a fruit, its external appearance may not always reflect its internal condition. By handling the fruit, one can often ascertain whether it is ripe, underripe, or beginning to spoil despite its seemingly perfect exterior. The texture of fruit plays a crucial role in determining its quality.
Spiritual fruit is comparable. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23). The type of fruit we produce is indeed noticeable. Despite our physical appearance, our fruit also has a distinct feel. The absence of fruit or fruit that is not fully developed and may even be internally decomposing can affect other individuals. We can leave a lasting impression that evokes positive or negative memories of our behavior, depending on the condition of our fruit. As with any fruit, how it’s grown and maintained matters. The basics for growth are the soil, water, and light. As we tap into the presence of Jesus Christ as our foundation, we will have everything needed to cultivate good fruit. Yes, different environments and conditions will alter various components of our fruit, but as church professionals, we must be aware of the fruit we bear. Its quality will ultimately influence another person’s experience with us because people always watch and perceive us, detailing their experiences with us and our fruit. Therefore, we must be intentional about how our fruit, or the lack thereof, makes them feel during every interaction of a ministry touchpoint.
As Christian church professionals, our fruit represents our creation. We must represent and reflect the image of God from where we originated and exhibit appropriate Church Professionalism behaviors to everyone we encounter. Remember, this may be the first and only opportunity for someone to meet Jesus formally through you.
