We are made for fruitfulness, but what are we producing?

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:

What did I like about today’s passage?

Alongside so much judgement there is also so much that reminds me of Jesus. I’m especially drawn to the picture of the vineyard (anyone else, Severn Vineyard?!) Not just because I like the name, but because it reminds me of stories Jesus told.

Remember the one about the man who built the vineyard with a wall, watchtower and winepress? (It’s in Mark 12 and Matthew 21.) It’s about what God wanted to grow in the world. In Jesus’ version, people are tenants looking after the vines but refusing to recognise the owner. In Isaiah, people are the vines themselves, growing bad fruit instead of good.

That reminds me of another Jesus story where he is the vine and we are branches (John 15). That’s how we produce good fruit! Taken together, maybe these stories show how we can’t be as good and fruitful as we would like to be on our own. We need closeness to God, and if his instructions don’t bring us close, we can never hope to make good fruit by our own efforts.

I also love that there was a spiritually fruitful person in this passage. Closeness to God terrified Isaiah, though, as he knew that God’s glory would burn away human imperfections. What Isaiah didn’t know is how God would do this and leave him intact, ready for a mission to share what he had seen and heard from God.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

God’s holiness is scary to us. Just as we know that light takes darkness away, we can sense that darkness in us cannot remain when God’s presence lights us up. But God does not destroy people who seek him – he can take deal with sin with a touch.

So why did God bring catastrophic sounding judgement on Israel? It’s not for us to judge, but it sounds to me like he wanted real change in people’s hearts and in our ability to join him in reshaping the world. We would need to unite with Jesus for this. God does not want anyone to try and manufacture their own fruit. He can grow it in us when we are in Jesus.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

I am struck by how much is possible when close to God compared with how little good we can really do independently. So while I might normally lean into project plans and to-do lists next time I am reviewing how to spend chunks of time and effort, I am resolving to spend more time in prayer and other people who are good at hearing and passing on God’s words.

Who am I going to share this with?

I will chat with some more people at Severn Vineyard about getting together to pray!