When spring arrives, I can smell my rosemary bush before I see it. 

Healthy rosemary plants can produce masses of fragrant leaves and tiny purple blossoms; fruitful growth is part of the plant’s DNA.

Blooming plants like these remind us that fruitful abundance is also God’s plan for humans, both the Israelites of the old covenant and Christ’s followers. 

Just as healthy trees produce a wealth of apples or apricots, healthy Christians yield a profusion of love, joy and peace. God didn’t design us to live a stingy existence with only enough compassion and patience for a few people. God wants the abundance of our spiritual fruit—the love, joy and patience that reflect God’s image in us—to fill our homes and communities with the fragrance of Christ.

Picture a single fruit, and then imagine more of it. More strawberries. More peaches. More fresh melons. If there’s more fruit on the plant, isn’t there more for everyone to enjoy? That’s the reward of abundance, both for plants and trees and for God’s children.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we open our hearts to you as the source of spiritual life. Tend our hearts until they overflow with the fruit of your love. Amen