Fruit

Saturday May 16th, John 15: 16 “You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil.  The “decision theology” of most of Protestantism aside, we did not choose God, we do not make a decision to follow Jesus, we do not choose.  We do not choose to be a child of God any more than your children “choose” to be your children.  We simply woke up one day and began to grasp the reality that God chose us.  And what God chose for us to do about that calling, that recognition, is to bear fruit.  We are called to bear the Fruit of the spirit, fruits of love, fruits of our labor, fruits that provide nourishment and sustenance and growth among the children of God, fruits that help the children and especially the adults in our midst maintain a healthy diet.  From Jesus point of view, what is the fruit that won’t spoil? Is it more weapons? Program cuts for the poor? The answer is a resounding NO.  Let there be no doubt, the Paul Ryan budget is the antithesis of everything Jesus stood for and everything we as the children of God are called to stand for.  Jesus chose us as emissaries of the kingdom, not mercenaries, and yet, we have all too often let this message of God’s love slide away from us through our silence and inaction. Perhaps it is time for emissary action in the world, the whole world that God created and has called good.