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HOW GOD DEVELOPS SPIRITUAL FRUIT
“Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.” (John 15.8)
Training
A few years ago my husband and I acquired a puppy. We bought her a dog house. An outdoor dog, we tried unsuccessfully to get her to go into her new dog house. She was like an obstinate child, intelligent but defiant.
A year later we acquired another puppy of a different breed. We wanted our first dog to have a companion. Our year old canine friend began showing her new companion around the yard. She instructed him particularly on the dog house, demonstrating how it should be used. She went into the dog house, came back out, then repeated the process. Our labor had not been in vain! She had not misunderstood our intention for her to use the dog house after all.
Teaching
God is precious with us as His children. He adopted us into His family, taking from us the guilt of our sin against Him. Regardless of our physical age when we accepted Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, at that point we are spiritual babies. God the Holy Spirit took up residence in our heart when we accepted God’s gift of salvation. Now He begins to teach us. God wants us to understand our conversion experience wasn’t the end of the story. As wonderful as redemption is, God begins to lead us on a journey of discovery.
The Holy Spirit is our personal Teacher, guiding us from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity. Our spiritual growth occurs as we (1) read our Bible, God’s Word to us; (2) pray, talking with God about what concerns us; and (3) obey the directions in commands we read in Scripture. Jesus said in John 15:14, “Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. God entrusts us with the King’s business as we follow His directions, obeying His commands.
Teach the lesson to others
We knew our older dog had absorbed the dog house lesson we had taught her because she taught the same lesson to another dog. Let us be teachable as the Holy Spirit instructs us. Then when we are ready we will be useful instruments in God’s hands to help someone else on their journey of faith.
Shirley Logsdon
Additional reading:
https://www.treadingwatertiljesuscomes.com/2019/08/20/who-im-meant-to-be/
