Who is Influencing you in 2022?
Gal 5:22-23 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…”
Not too long ago, it became necessary for me to make some serious decisions about my life. Suddenly, the days of college idealism were far behind me. I woke up one day and realized I was married, had a real job, and owed money for rent. Some people call it growing up. And it can really hit you in the face.
My life was different than it used to be. I had new responsibilities, and I had to decide: What was I going to value? How was I going to design my life? How would my choices affect my husband, and our new life together?
These were big questions. And I felt the Holy Spirit impress upon my heart that there is wisdom in observing the lives of those around me. So I began to think about the people I see day-to-day and ask, “What do they value? How do they think about things? How do they conduct themselves in the world? Where do they spend their time? How do they spend their money? What results is that producing?”
Christians often refer to this process as looking at the “fruit” of someone’s life. What is their “way of life” producing?
Matthew 7:18, 20 “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit…Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
The world tends to impress upon us that it is good to seek fame, money, and beauty. But we ought to pause long enough to look at people who chase those things with a keen eye that sees past the glitz and glamour. When the shine is taken away: What is their marriage like? How is their mental health? How is their relationship to their community? No one’s perfect, of course, but overall, is their “way of life” producing healthy, abundant results?
I’ve often found myself subconsciously following people whose lives were not bearing a bountiful harvest. I’ve adopted their way of thinking, their values, and their pursuits, without looking carefully at what that “way of life” was actually yielding for them. Sometimes I’ve even found myself adopting the ways of celebrities or influencers, without stepping back to see if their lives are producing good fruit.
Lately, however, I’ve been blessed to have friends whose lives are bearing beautiful fruit. They have love in their marriage, joy with their children, and peace in their homes. They have patience in their spirit, kindness with others, and goodness of character. They have faith in God, a gentle disposition, and exhibit self-control. They are not perfect, but their lives are bearing good fruit (Gal 5:22-23).
And that all sounds great. But how exactly are they doing this? Well, I’ve observed 5 key branches that seem to create lasting fruit, and I want to share them here with you. (I also got them all to start with the letter “f”, which is pretty exciting.)
5 branches for a fruitful life:
FAITH. Jesus comes first. Spend time at church, and privately with God. Worship.
FAMILY. Love your spouse and make an effort to connect with them. Make sacrifices for one another, and support each other. Value children.
FRIENDS. Give back to your communities - host people, volunteer your time, and consistently showing up.
FUN. Work hard, and have fun. Read, and take care of your body. Eat good food. Enjoy yourself.
FINANCES. Care about being a good steward of your finances, and be incredibly generous.
Takeways:
First, I hope you join me in meditating on those 5 branches, and remembering to value things that bear good fruit.
Second, ask yourself, who is influencing you? Someone is. And chances are it’s the people you spend the most time with, or watch the most online. Take a second to look at the fruit of their lives and assess if they are the right people to influence you. Do you want your life to look like theirs?
