John 15:5 NLT 
 
'Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.'
  
Standing along a stretch of dual carriageway near to us are a series of apple trees. Every year we see the blossom, the fruit and finally the harvest: the trees shedding their fruit on the ground. No one gathers it. Initially, I thought this was a waste. But as I reflected upon the fallen fruit, I recognised these trees were unable to stop doing what they were created for: to be fruitful. Nor can we. Even if we feel disconnected through circumstances, cut off from our family, or are no longer participating in a life-affirming Christian community, we cannot stop being fruitful if we remain in Jesus. 
 
What is the purpose of fruitfulness, however, if we are alone? Perhaps simply that God will never stop pouring out love into and through us. As I considered those trees, I realised the soil that nurtured them was itself enriched by their fallen fruit. So it is with us. Our output is not subject to the laws of supply and demand. We are not valued according to our usefulness. We are valued because of our chosen identity as children of God. As I abide in Jesus, such fruitfulness, if nothing else, will enrich the soil from which my life springs. There will be a perpetual harvest, and I need not worry about how it is used. So in the Oratory where we live, our life of contemplative prayer is much valued by visitors who stay for a retreat or just a meal. They note the stillness, the fruit of our simple abiding in God. By choice we make little effort to promote our work of prayer above publishing dates for retreats and an explanation of who we are. We are assured that whoever finds us is sent by God, and we welcome them with the hospitality, hope and healing that underpin our work of prayer and presence.  
 
Beware of living as an apple tree trying to produce pears. Rest in the knowledge that your harvest is guaranteed and never wasted. 
 
QUESTION: What is the fruit that grows from your abiding in Christ? 
 
PRAYER: Help me to abide in you today, Lord, trusting you for the harvest. 

Released on 22 Jul 2020