Choose Fruit Over Frustration | Monday

Fruit(Full) Week 3 | Following Jesus Is Easy

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28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Someone showed me a post on social media the other day from a friend of mine.  The post was basically talking about how tough life can be sometimes (true) and how following Jesus is tough too, but it was never meant to be easy (wait?…is that true also?).  I know it sounds spiritual, but is it actually true?  Should our souls feel heavy following Jesus?  A lot of people say following Jesus is hard. Maybe you’ve felt it too—the pressure to be “good enough,” to keep up with all the rules, to do more, be more, try harder. It feels like a treadmill you can’t step off of. But what if it’s not supposed to be that way? What if following Jesus isn’t hard at all? What if it’s actually easy?

That’s exactly what Jesus says. “Come to me,” He invites, “and I will give you rest.” He doesn’t say, “Come to me and work harder.” He says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. That’s because the Spirit-led life isn’t about what we do for God; it’s about what He does in and through us. Now, I know what you might be thinking. “Wait, aren’t we supposed to die to ourselves? Isn’t there a cross involved?” Yes, but here’s the beauty of it: we die to our old selves once so we can live a brand-new life with Him. It’s not about daily striving to kill your old self—it’s about trusting that your old self has already been crucified with Jesus. You’re not trying to reform your old life; you’re living from the new life He’s given you.

Fruit doesn’t strain to produce fruit. It just stays connected to the vine and grows naturally. 

Fruit is a perfect picture of this. Apple trees don’t strain to produce apples. They don’t sweat or stress or force it. They simply stay connected to the vine, and fruit grows naturally. In the same way, we don’t have to force ourselves to be loving, joyful, or peaceful. When we stay connected to Jesus, those things start flowing naturally because His Spirit is working in us. So, is following Jesus hard? Not when we understand the truth. The Spirit-led life isn’t a list of impossible demands; it’s an invitation to rest, to trust, and to let Him work in us. It’s not about proving ourselves but about being deeply rooted in the One who has already proven everything for us. That’s how fruit grows—not from frustration, but from freedom.

Prayer for the Day

God what are you  showing me?  What am I going to do about it? 

God help me to see one person that I can serve through a kind word, random act of kindness, or simple gift today?

Make sure you complete the reading or comment today.

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