Year 6, Day 51: Titus 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Bear Fruit

• Bear Fruit: We bear fruit after we grow.  Bearing fruit is ultimately the goal of abiding and the goal of being called into the Kingdom of God.  However, while bearing fruit is our calling, it is not the end.  We bear fruit so that we can then prune, abide, grow, and bear more fruit in another season.  Bearing fruit is not the end, but rather only a portion of the whole rhythm of life into which God has called us.

One of the teachings that the book of Titus is known for is Paul’s instructions on appointing church leaders.  Specifically, this first chapter contains a good amount of teaching on the qualifications for a good elder.  While the qualifications may be important, what I really want to do is to take a step back and view this idea through the lens that Paul gives us at the end of the chapter.  How do we know a good elder?  How can we pick a good mentor?  Look into their life.  If their life is bearing godly fruit, then chances are they can help your life bear godly fruit as well.

I hate to say it, but it really is that simple.  Jesus teaches us the same thing when He is talking about blind guides in Matthew 15:14 or Luke 6:39.  If a blind person leads a blind person, won’t they both fall into a pit?  Can a person who isn’t capable at performing a task actually help someone else perform it? 

Of course not.  When we are looking for elders in the church, we want to look for people whose lives bear godliness.  Even more importantly, when we are looking for people to influence our life we need to look into their life and examine their fruit.  If a person does have good fruit in their life, then we should reasonably anticipate that they can help us develop similar fruit in our life.  Conversely, if a person doesn’t have good fruit in their life, why would we ever think that they could help us have good fruit in our life?

Speaking of these people, notice how Paul ends this chapter.  Those people who lack good fruit claim to know God but have no evidence.  Paul calls them detestable, disobedient, and unfit.  Those are some pretty serious words of condemnation.  This is all the more reason to bear good fruit.

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