When you look at an apple, what do you see? Do you see a fruit that is crisp, slightly sweet, slightly tart, delicious, and juicy? This is what we usually see. However, we often miss the tree that it came from. We don’t see the seed that the tree sprouted from. We don’t see all the years that the tree went through storms, winters, and droughts.

A mature Christian will see more than just the fruit in their lives and in the lives of others. They will see the trials, problems, and patience required to produce such splendid fruit. When looking at the fruit in our lives, we should see the storms, the amount of time, and the rain of blessings that God provided for us to produce this fruit.

More than likely, it needed a trial to cultivate it. It needed prayers to water it. It needed God’s Word to nourish it. It needed encouragement from others to shine on it, and it needed patience to wait for its full development. Looking at the fruit that was produced in our own lives ought to help us to help others.

When an opportunity to help another person, to pray for a friend, or to encourage a new believer comes, then we must take those opportunities. Those are the things we can do to help the fruit in others grow. Their lives need encouragement and prayer to produce fruit. We can help them get into the Word and stand with them in their storms. We can’t just look at the fruit of our lives. We must look at what others did for us to produce that fruit and do those things for others.