The Fruit of Diligence

The fruit of diligence may be produced by cultivating fellowship. We must not try to lead the Christian life on our own. Scripture says that we are all members of one body, and we all need one another (see, for example, Romans 12:4–5.) I often think of David going out to meet Goliath, taking just five smooth stones from the brook as weapons. Why did those stones have to be smooth? They would not have been accurate missiles if they had not been smooth, and inaccuracy might have cost David his life. The stones were smooth because they had been lying in the brook, where water had been passing over them regularly. They had been jostled against one another, and this action rubbed away their sharp edges.

I believe that when the Lord Jesus Christ wants to find Christians He can use, He goes to the brook, where the pure water of God’s Word has been flowing over them, washing them, rounding them off. There, they have been in fellowship with one another, rubbing away the rough edges. Cultivating fellowship will make us into smooth stones.

My last recommendation is to submit to discipline. Fruit does not come in a person’s life without discipline. I have two main forms of discipline in mind. First, self-discipline — the way in which we organize our lives. This discipline includes even the simplest of things, such as when we get up in the morning, what we eat, what we wear, and personal cleanliness. Managing all these details is essential to cultivating fruit. Beyond that, I believe every Christian in normal situations should be subject to church discipline. He should be a member of a church, under the authority of the church leaders and subject to their discipline.