What's That Gas You're Giving Off?

12-26-12

John 15:1-8

¹ I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

⁸ Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

                       

Shortly after my wife left to visit her brother in Florida, I had a bunch of bananas on the counter that split open lengthwise.  I had never heard of or seen anything like this before. I had to investigate. I’m not sure I found the actual reason why the bananas split, but I found out some amazing facts about bananas. 

As bananas ripen they give off ethylene gas. Actually, most fruits give off this gas, but bananas give off an exceptionally large amount of it. Maybe this is what caused these particular bananas to split open. This gas causes the fruit to ripen and helps develop color change. If bananas are kept in a closed container with green tomatoes, the bananas will cause the tomatoes to ripen faster. I imagine this has something to do with why my wife puts peaches in a paper bag and claims it helps them ripen faster. It never made sense to me before. The ethylene gas they are giving off is being kept close to them and is encouraging them to ripen.

So, where’s the spiritual lesson in this? In the scripture passage above, we are instructed to bear much fruit. Our fruit is also expected to grow and ripen.  Couldn’t we say that as our fruit ripens we produce a gas that encourages the fruit around us also to ripen? This is why it is important that saints forsake not the assembly of themselves together.

Matthew 7:16­-20

¹⁶ Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

¹⁷ Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

¹⁸ A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

¹⁹ Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

²⁰ Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

                It is possible to produce bad fruit. I’m going to suggest that the gas that is given off by ripening bad fruit will encourage the ripening of other bad fruit. 

                So what’s that gas you’re giving off? Is your good fruit encouraging the other saints to produce the fruit of the Spirit? Or is your bad fruit encouraging the lost to feel comfortable and confident in their lost state?

^"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23).