The Sweet Smell of “Good Fruit”
Last night was the final meeting of my men’s Bible study group. It started about 8 months ago and for the most part was made up of new or younger believers, save for a couple of “veterans.”
Our format was quite simple. Study and share John’s gospel together. Pray for each other. And spend some time talking about the common issues we face as guys.
Last night’s gathering was special for me as two of our newest believers shared how God was prompting them to do something with their lives. One of the men has recently been drawn into prison ministry, and after a lot of hard work will be heading up the very first worship service at the Summit County jail in two weeks. He and his wife have also opened their home to some people in some difficult situations. He shared that, prior to coming to Christ, he would have never let anyone stay at his house. But God is producing fruit through him, and many are being blessed.
The other man shared how he was recently at a memorial service of a friend, and that no one of faith was present. He said that the service was really just a reason to party, as no one knew what to do or say. So this guy decided to pull out his guitar to sing a few songs. And then he sensed God prompting him to pray. He knew God was nudging Him to make this service more than a time to hang out, but to bring some depth to service. Afterwards, he was amazed as people thanked him for bringing a spiritual element to an otherwise spiritually-empty event. This was doubly amazing to me when I think about the condition he was in less than a year ago! He had so many issues going on in his life back then. But he invited Christ into his life, and change began to take place.
That’s the sweet smell of good fruit. People growing in the things of God so they might be used by God.
