Pleasing God: Bearing Fruit In Every Good Work

We have not stopped—asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work. 

Colossians 1:9-10

 

As we established yesterday, God the Father was enormously pleased with the life of the Son. Follow that up with this fact: For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son (Romans 8:29). Pretty exciting stuff—that’s you and me, predestined to please God. Let’s begin then today with the first way to please the Lord—bearing fruit in every good work.    

Field trip, into God’s orchard. What is this fruit Paul is talking about? It is the word of truth, the gospel, that is bearing fruit and growing. It is the faith and the love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven, because of God’s grace in all its truth (Colossians 1:5-6). Grace in you buds and blossoms, as do apples on an apple tree.       

You see, once you have the grace of God inside, you can’t help but produce the fruits of faith and love as you live for the Lord. In everything you do, they just pop out. In all things we please God by loving the saints.

A couple of guidelines. The first, I need to remember I am trying to please God, not men:  Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10).

And the second, we should be trying to please our neighbor, instead of ourselves: We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself— (Romans 15:1-4).

It’s that simple. It’s not about me; it’s about God. It’s about being a servant like Jesus. It’s about building up your friends for their own good, as Jesus did. It’s about grace blossoming through love, just because it is in you. Then others’ partaking of the grace fruit brings glory to Jesus.  

 Nancy P