God gave us the incredible gift of eternal life. While He offers it freely, He also calls us to make something of it. Too many people waste their lives on things that won’t matter in the long run. Instead, let’s focus on finding ways to make a real difference in the world and in the lives of others.
When we give someone a gift, we want them to use and appreciate it. If they ignore it or throw it away, we feel disappointed. In the same way, God wants us to use the gift of life. One of the best ways to thank Him is by putting it to good use.
God is perfect love, and while we can’t love as fully as He does yet, He calls us to grow in love and reflect His goodness to others. Love isn’t always easy—it can be difficult and demanding. But Scripture teaches us what true love looks like. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, we read: “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
One day, we will stand before God. What will we have to show for our lives? Did we use our talents only for ourselves, or did we invest them in others? How well did we love—both God and those around us? If we live as though we don’t need God now, we risk spending eternity without Him as well.
Not everyone produces the same amount of fruit, but each of us is called to bear what we are meant to. The black walnut tree doesn’t yield as much as a fig tree, but it still produces its own kind of fruit. If it bore nothing at all, a farmer would cut it down. In the same way, God expects us to cultivate the gifts He has given us and bear the fruit we are capable of producing.
Just as a farmer waters his crops and tends the soil, we must nurture our spiritual lives so we can help nourish others. The more we grow in faith, the better our fruit will be. Imagine the joy of standing before God, seeing Him smile at the life we lived and all the wonderful fruits that we produced.
