Be Fruitful
Let me tell you a little bit about 21-22 year old Cameron. I kept a pretty busy schedule. At least, I thought I did. Isn’t it amazing how we always think we’re crazy busy, until we get to the next big milestone and wonder what in the world we did with our time when we were younger? Yeah, that was me.
I remember a time I was working a church in Tulsa, Parkview Baptist. I was part-time sound technician and part time janitor. I also did freelance design and video work as well as working at a phone store. I spent my downtime hanging out in the indie music scene in Tulsa playing in coffee shops all over, or dabbling in a photography business.
If you were to ask me what I’ve been up to or how I was doing, the answer was always the same: “good, just busy.” That became like my catchphrase and really kind of my whole identity.
There was a very specific moment that I was talking to someone at the church whom I looked up to. He was sharp, wise, and shared some similar skills that I had. After the millionth time I told him that I was busy, he responded, “you’re the busiest single 20 something I know.”
I can’t remember for sure, but I probably said, “thank you”. I took it as a compliment! That was a proud moment for me. In my mind, I had arrived. I was a big kid now. If you’re really being a successful adult, you must be busy, right?
Looking back, I’m not sure that he meant it that way. I can now kind of see sardonicism in his statement. And probably more than a little irony, as he had teenagers, was a business owner, and held plenty of real estate. What could a 20-year old have to be busy about, right?
What’s the point of that walk down memory lane? If you would’ve asked 22 year old Cameron is he was being fruitful, he would have said yes.
I thought that I was being fruitful, but in retrospect, I was really just wasting time. Sure, I was doing some good things sprinkled in there. But for the most part, I wasn’t living in any kind of fruitfulness at all.
That’s one example of how we can kind of trick ourselves into believing that we’re being fruitful, when really, we aren’t. How are we to live? We should seek to be fruitful.
I want to focus on Philippians 1:20–27:
My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better— but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.
Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Let’s look at three practical takeaways and try to understand what it means to live a fruitful life—as you read, I want you to really be honest about some of the things you allow to distract you from the life God has called you to. Buckle up, buttercup.
First, you need to understand that as Christians…
We are not our own
Hailee and I are big fans of the New City Catechism. I know, some of you just shuddered. Catechism is a scary word. It doesn’t have to be, it’s just based on the Greek word for “instruction by teaching”. We’ve been working through that with our boys and we love it, they love it.
Brief aside: start teaching your kids about Jesus early. They’re smarter than you think. If you walk up to my 4-year-old, and ask him, “what is our only hope in life and death?” He will answer “we are not our own, but we belong to God.”
That’s based on a passage in Romans:
Romans 14:7–8 says, “For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
It’s very important to Hailee and me to make sure that our children understand that from a young age.
That passage is a very similar sentiment to what Paul begins to talk about here in Philippians. We are not our own. We don’t live for ourselves anymore. We live for something bigger, for something greater, and for something far more holy.
Let’s look at Philippians 1:20–22 again:
My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always,
with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; (emphasis added)
That should be challenging. If that’s not challenging for you, then either you’ve already arrived, and you should be writing this post, or you’re not being honest with yourself.
When you take a look at the way you are living your life, can you honestly say that you will not be ashamed of anything?
Or how about this: will Christ be highly honored by the way you conduct yourself? Here’s the thing, as believers in Christ and followers of him, we no longer live for ourselves.
But many of us don’t live that way.
The honest truth is, we fill our lives with all kinds of things that are just for us. I think one of the biggest threats to our fruitfulness today is that we are just too busy.
Think about your conversations in a given day, when you ask someone, “hey how’s it going?” And the other person says, “oh you know, just pretty busy.”
We have a million things going on, between work, school, sports, entertainment, you name it.
The bottom line is that it’s easy to be busy. I’m a professional busy person. I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew.
Some of you reading this are probably still waiting for me to text or email you back. (But seriously, I’m sorry)
It’s ridiculously easy to fill a calendar. It really is. Coming up with things to do isn’t actually hard to do. Even if you’re kind of a homebody like me.
It also just kinda feels good to be busy, right? Like, there’s a bit of satisfaction in having a full schedule. As nauseating as it can be at times, we tend to wear our full calendars on our sleeve like a medal. 22 year old Cameron did it. I still do it all the time. Turns out that 22-year-old Cameron is a really slow learner.
It’s much harder to be fruitful. It’s way harder to set aside your time, energy, and resources for things that are solely fruitful. Sometimes it means less work, so we feel useless. Sometimes it means more work, so we’re worried about burning out. But not all busyness is created equal.
We aren’t called to be busy, we’re called to be fruitful.
In the long run, it is far more rewarding to be fruitful than busy, I promise. 22-year-old Cameron was busy and he doesn’t have a thing to show for it.
Can I tell you a little secret? I’m going to let you behind the curtain a little bit:
I would wager that every church staff lives in this tension. Some manage it in healthier ways than others. Let me tell you, as a church staffer, it’s easy to fill a calendar. And it feels like a win when we have a lot going on. But it’s not always fruitful.
I’m sorry if that shatters some illusions you have about church work. But we’re guilty of it too, so understand that my intention is not to simply come down on you. This is a reminder for me as well. I’m trying to remind myself that it’s better to be fruitful than look fruitful.
Another struggle I have is with perfectionism. I’ll waste so much time getting hung up on little things to make sure they’re perfect. Perfectionism looks fruitful, but is it, really? There are no trophies in heaven for having the most going on. There’s no reward for perfection.
There’s not going to be a celebration in heaven based on how much time you filled, but our lives will be measured based on how we filled our time.
There’s a subtle but key difference there.
We must life with intentionality because there is a bigger purpose. We are made for more than living for our own pleasures and satisfactions. We are made for more than exhausting ourselves for what we think might be a perfect life.
I’m going to share something that I might regret (I won’t). I’ll apologize in advance (I only kind of mean it). If you’re offended, send me an email.
Keeping our children (and ourselves) exhausted with school activities, school work, sports, and other extra-curriculars isn’t fruitful and it’s not living within the purpose God called you to.
None of those things are bad in and of themselves, and I encourage you to seek out ways to expand your reach and grow your oikos, your inner circle.
But where it becomes a problem is when you are no longer able to disciple your children and walk with Jesus as an example for them and walk with Jesus with them.
In the book Family Discipleship, Adam Griffin says, “If it seems like you don’t have a time to engage in family discipleship, the opposite is actually true. You don’t have time for overtime at work or any of the myriad family activities and other commitments if you don’t have time for this. Spiritual leadership is your priority as a parent.” (emphasis mine)
So if you struggle to find the time to lead your family to the throne of God, it’s time to make some changes. There is time. It’s just too easy to let other things be more important.
Be fruitful.
That said, we are created to enjoy this world that God has given us. We are created to enjoy the companionship of others through work, play, and relaxation.
So don’t hear me saying that sports and music and art are a waste. But I am asking you to be honest about yourself about whether it is or isn’t fruitful. Only you can answer that.
Are we okay? Doing alright? Here’s the point: we are not our own.
If you belong to God, why are you giving yourself to everyone and everything else?
What does it look like to be fruitful? How can we make sure to be intentional in what we do?
We don’t have to figure out how to live in a godly, fruitful way all on our own. If you are in Christ, there is a Helper who leads us and guides us into his plan for us.
Look at 2 Peter 1:3–8:
“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self- control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (emphasis added)
So what does fruitfulness look like? We can break down a few ideas from Peter:
Faithfulness (be faithful to God first and God alone)
Goodness (just be a decent human)
Understanding (spend time in the word)
Self-control (know when to stop. TV, video games, reading, sports, food, whatever)
Endurance (sometimes fruitfulness is a lot of work, hang in there)
Godliness (live set apart! We should be different than our culture while working within our culture)
Brotherly affection and love (care about people)
Live With Urgency
Time is short. As Paul wrote this letter to the Philippian church, he was shackled in prison, unsure if he would ever leave. Every letter he wrote could be his last. When he said “to live is Christ and to die is gain” he had a wildly different perspective than we do.
He was looking death straight in its beady little eye and saying, “I’m going to make the most of whatever time I have left.”
I’ll say it again. Time is short.
Ephesians 5:15–16 says, “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— making the most of the time, because the days are evil.”
Time is short. How can we make the most of it?
This touches every single aspect of our lives, and is why it is absolutely crucial to make sure that there is a level of intentionality to our time. Life is too short to just fill a calendar. We’ll blink and have missed so many precious, irretrievable opportunities.
Obviously there are some very real takeaways for this passage in every facet of life.
How we interact with coworkers: make the best use of time.
How we connect with our neighbors: make the best use of time.
How we serve at church: make the best use of time.
But where this point really strikes me recently is with my kids. How can I make the most of the time I have with my kids? My oldest is starting Kindergarten in a few weeks. Here’s what kills me, it’s literally painful. For the rest of his life, for 9 months of the year, he will probably spend more time with his teacher than with me. I had 4 or 5 years, and then poof, I’ll wake up tomorrow and he’ll be moving out.
What have I done with the time?
What have I showed him is a priority for me? Even in these four years? By the grace of God, church has always been a part of his life and I love that. But what about outside these walls? What about at other times? I spend so much time and energy trying to provide a future for my children, trying odd-jobs, learning various skills, trying to make plans, trying to make sure finances will make sense as they grow older and start needing more, keeping the house a certain way, the yard kept a certain way...
I spend so much time trying to do things for my kids, when really all they need is a dad. Time is short, God forgive me for my absence!
I saw a post on social media from Shane Pruitt, a speaker, author, and he works with NAMB. It’s challenging: “When we make everything else more important than following Jesus for our kids while they are young, we shouldn’t be surprised when following Jesus still isn’t important for our kids when they become adults.”
What does that look like for you? What do your kids see as a priority? Is it sports? Is it school? Try this: ask the youth pastor at your church how many students miss church events every year for school, sports, homework, etc.
As if ACT of SAT scores could be more important than their walk with Jesus! (I’m sorry if that’s offensive, but it’s true)
I’ve spent too long teaching my kids that filling every minute of every day with stuff is what’s important, when really, we are called to be fruitful. We are called to make good use of the time that God has given us. Are you doing that?
And it doesn’t have to be about kids. I’m sorry to make it more about that, it’s just where I am in life right now. Maybe your kids are grown. Maybe you haven’t started yet. Maybe you’re single, whatever your life stage, time is short and you never know what time you may have either in your life or how much time you have to be an influence in someone else’s.
We don’t know how much time we have to be fruitful. It’s better to start now.
We must live with urgency.
Time is short. Make the best use of it, for the days are evil.
We must finish well
Toward the end of his life, Paul wrote this to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:7-8), his child in the faith, a young man he had mentored:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day— and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
None of us knows the time we have left. Paul had a habit of writing these letters from prison. He was prepared for his end.
Before he had written this letter to the Philippians, he is quoted in Acts 20:22-24:
“And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.” (emphasis added)
Our purpose is to the finish the course and the ministry we’ve received. And, to be clear, we have all receive ministry (whether vocationally or not) This is a big deal, as we look at the life and testimony of Paul and know that he committed to give every last minute of his life in the name of being fruitful. To live for someone else’s benefit and not his own. Philippians 1:25–26:
I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.
How can we ensure that we finish well? There’s really only one correct answer: We have to live well every moment of every day.
If we don’t know when the finish line will happen, we have to assume it will happen at any moment, and live a bold, fruitful, and God-honoring life.
I don’t mean to sound fatalistic, but this is simply echoing the idea that we need to constantly live with urgency. We rest and relax, that is necessary, holy, and given to us by God, but we still have work to do at the same time.
For young people, students, wherever you are, the time to start is now. How can you live with purpose? How can be fruitful with what God has given you?
If you’re a parent, do you know the best time to start discipling your children? They day they’re born. But the second best time is today. Don’t miss it.
Now for the, ahem, chronologically superior... you thought you were going to get out of this, huh? I’ll try to go easy on you. We need you in the fight. Don’t give up on us. Don’t quit.
Can I tell you a secret? None of us has any idea what we’re doing. We’re all just making it up as we go.
One of my favorite answers when new parents ask if I have any advice for raising kids is that nobody actually knows anything. We don’t have a clue. Anyone who says they do is lying.
I’m convinced that nobody figures out how to raise kids until they move out. For the wiser folks among us, we need you. You’re way smarter than us and you’ve seen so much more than us, we need you with us and alongside us.
We need leadership and mentorship.
In your church, they need you to help steer the ship. They need your reasonableness. They need you to help train up and guide the next generation of leaders. At some point it’s going to be up to them, and they need your help!
We’re forgetful and we’re blind. We often don’t see things the way we should because we’re not wise enough to know how to look yet.
Remember what happened in Judges? God delivered the people of Israel from Egypt. He guided them through the wilderness, and then he supernaturally allowed for them to take back the promised land.
But the book of Judges opens with a haunting warning in chapter 2:
“The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works he had done for Israel. ... That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel.”
The church needs you to help make sure that doesn’t happen. Don’t let us be the generation that doesn’t know the Lord or the works that he has done.
When there are opportunities to share your influence and your wisdom, please do so.
Finish well.
Remember Paul’s attitude that he was going to do his very best to make sure every moment of his life was fruitful for the sake of the church.
The point is, there are opportunities to continue in fruitfulness and obedience in every single stage of life.
If you know me, you know that I love church history. I love hymns and learning about how they came to be. I think there is much to be learned from the past.
Are you familiar with the hymn “Abide with me?” It’s lesser known, “Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.”
It was written in the mid-1800s by Henry Francis Lyte. He was a man who had devoted most of his life to ministry. Unfortunately, poor health seemed to follow him throughout his life. He often had to travel south for the winter to warmer climates in order to not fall seriously ill.
Later in life, as he began to fight tuberculosis and other ailments, his family encouraged him to slow down. Maybe consider retirement. He refused, and his daughter recounts something poignant that he told her. He said that, “it would be better to wear out than to rust out”.
Think about that for a moment.
Is your goal to wear out or rust out? Are you willing to live a life of fruitfulness so dedicated to that aim that you will spend every minute of your life on it and then finish well?
Don’t rust out.
Wear out.
Remember that you are not your own. You and your life belong to Jesus. Therefore, live with urgency and finish well.
This is a modified transcript of a sermon I preached at Cherokee Hills Baptist Church in September of 2022. You can watch the full sermon below (starting at around 26 minutes) or listen to the podcast below the video.
