You're here to bear fruit, reproduce, lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!" Genesis 9:7
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​​I’ve often thought that if I ever wrote a book about my spiritual journey, the title would be called Passion Fruit.  I think that it is the perfect term to describe what God does in us, through us and beyond us to the world when we live passionately for Him.  First, like the fruit of the same name, God’s Spirit in us is sweet, delicious and full of health benefitting nourishment essentials for optimum growth. The tiny seeds of God’s word burst open with flavor and nutrients when consumed. He is our passionfruit. 

Second, the more we taste His living word and let it fill us, the more passionate for life we become. And passion is the key to producing the best fruit. Wikipedia defines passion as “a compelling desire or enthusiasm for something.”  It is the energy that motivates us to seek God, serve God and let Him transform our lives.  It grows as it is fueled by greater and greater intake of His word and understanding of its meaning for our lives.  Without it, we become lukewarm, empty and unmotivated.  We may have Christ inside us, but we have snuffed out the energy and life of His transforming Spirit.  Only with passion can we produce great fruit.

If we know that the reason we are here on earth is to passionately carry out God’s purpose for us, to bear fruit, to reproduce spiritual generations of devoted followers, and to live bountifully, then we need to keep the fire of that passion stoked!  We need to fill ourselves daily with the seeds of God’s word.  And we need to do it in ways that stimulate our appetite for more. 

Try this:  find a passage of Scripture that describes someone who felt God’s presence deeply and passionately.  Look at David in Psalm 18, or Jeremiah in Jeremiah 20:7-13, or Jacob in Genesis 28:10-17; read the text as though you were that person, experiencing those circumstances and expressing those feelings.  Read the passage out loud.  Pray it to God!  Then write how you feel. Write what you see, what you hear, what you taste, feel and smell.  Write what you wonder, and what you believe.  Ask God to fill you with the same passion that these people had for Him.  Do this daily for 2 weeks.  Then see if the fire of passion for God hasn’t quickened for you.
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When we allow the transforming power of Christ to produce passion in us, we will in turn bear sweet fruit that is good for us, good for the world and good for God’s kingdom here on earth. 

​Growing up, I remember that there was always, always, dessert after dinner.  My mom would come up with a creative presentation on a nightly basis, whether it was jello with whipped cream, or hot apple pie with cheese melted on top!  It didn’t matter what was on the menu for the main course; my sisters and I would always ask, “What’s for dessert?” as my mom prepared whatever we were going to eat. Sometimes, if we were in the kitchen at just the right moment, we even got to sample what was coming out of the oven.  One of my favorites was the little leftover pieces of pie crust that she would sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake until crisp.  I loved those delicious treats!  It makes my mouth water, just thinking of them now!  Knowing that there was dessert on the menu made meal times an adventure; especially when the main course was something less than appealing (like liver and onions, ugh!).

As I’ve learned to savor God’s presence in my quiet times, I’ve come to see His words to me as those sweet and savory treats from my childhood.  I look forward to the flavors that I will uncover as I read and pray and listen for His voice.  It doesn’t matter what’s on the menu, I can always find the sweetness hidden in even the heaviest courses.
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Just like the reward of that delicious dessert after dinner, we can savor the truths that come out of every word of God.  This is what I do:  as I read I look for a word that stirs my spirit; a word that jumps off the page to me.  I set that word aside, saving room for more of it after I’ve finished reading the Scripture God has given me that day.  When I’m ready, I go back to that word and I explore the meaning, the context, and the images that it produces in my mind.  I write about everything I see.  I ask God to show me how He wants that word to transform me, and I listen for His thoughts on the subject.  Or maybe I’ll take the whole verse of Scripture surrounding that word and decorate it with sprinkles of color, imagery and personal art.  As I use my imagination to “see” the verse artistically, I can savor the sweetness of its truth for my own life.
As you seek to find the flavor of God in your journey with Him, try saving room for the “dessert” of His word.  You’ll find that it’s sweeter than honey!