There are several secrets to a fruitful life and ministry. I share them with you believing the Bible does not speak of a successful life, but a fruitful life. Bearing fruit is result of loving and obeying Jesus. He said in John 15, verses 15 and following:

“I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.

“But remember the root command: Love one another.” The Message

The context of John 15 makes it clear there are three signs of fruitfulness: an intimate love relationship with Jesus – evidenced by trusting, obeying and spending time with him; a love relationship with those who also love Jesus – particularly by investing in one discipling relationships in one another’s lives; and thirdly, loving and bearing witness to those who do not yet know Jesus.

Here are a few of the secrets of a fruitful life that I have learned through the years.

1. Put down and cultivate roots. There is no fruit without roots. Roots give us strength. They bring stability when the wind blows. Roots mean we belong. A rootless person is a person who floats through life, never having stayed long enough or committed deep enough to really give himself or herself to a place or a people. Roots give us depth. In times of drought people with roots will survive, even thrive, while others dry up. There are seasons in everyone’s life of dryness. But a person with deep roots draws from the water that flows far beneath the surface. There are different kinds of roots: emotional roots, relational roots, cultural roots, and spiritual roots. Love the place God puts you. Love the people God joins you with. Invest your life in a small community of people where you are known, held accountable, and are loved.
2. Water the ground where you want to see fruit. Water the soil of your heart with prayer. Water the lives and the community around you with prayer. Pray daily for those God has put in your life: your neighbors, work associates, fellow students. These are the people you are called to reach with God’s love. Water the ground of their hearts with lots of loving, intentional acts of kindness. Invest in their lives. Do prayer walking. Pray and fast. Get up early and stay up late to pray for those who don’t know Jesus. There will be no fruit without watering the ground through prayer.
3. Sow abundant seed to reap an abundant harvest. Mark 4 teaches us that the seed is the good news of God’s love. The sower in this parable sowed extravagantly. Bring Jesus into every conversation and every relationship. Jesus taught that there are different kinds of soil in people’s hearts. Regardless, we are to sow the seed of good news extravagantly. Sow with a view of finding some good soil. When you find that soil, give attention to it. Don’t attack bad soil, but pray for good soil to receive the seed of God’s love while you keep on loving those who hearts are hard, stony, and covered with thorns.
4. Co-operate with God’s pruning process. God cuts away dead branches and even some good branches to prepare us for being fruitful. Don’t despair when the going gets hard. That is part of the process of God preparing us to be fruitful. Trust God when it is hard. Invite God to do a deep work of shaping your character and teaching you His ways. Believe His promises when it is a dry or difficult season. Don’t ask God “Why is this is happening to me?” Instead, ask Him, “What do you want to teach me?” Stay faithful and you will be fruitful!
5. Patiently trust the Lord of the Harvest for a fruitful harvest. Don’t “grow weary in well doing.” Stay by the harvest field. Wait on God while you wait for people to respond. There are times of sowing, and times of reaping. Don’t miss the harvest because you left the field too soon!

My prayer for you is that you will bear fruit, the fruit of a love relationship with the Father, a love relationship with a few others you live your life with, and love for those who don’t know him.