Fruitfulness, not Productivity
To conclude this Rule of Life topic on the practices of Silence & Solitude, we’re going to look at encountering God. After all, this is what it is all about, engaging with Jesus. Otherwise, they’re just mindfulness techniques, and productivity boosters with a Christian veneer. The Rule of Life is not about productivity. It’s about fruitfulness.
Christianity should not be about being efficient or proficient. It should be about Jesus.
For sure, we can do things better, smarter, more effectively and all that, but that is management not relationship. Christianity is fundamentally marked by its wastefulness, not its pragmatism. An itinerant Rabbi from a backwater town turns the world upside down with twelve nobodies from nowhere. Ushering in the most enduring Kingdom by reaching out to the marginalised in society, the last, the least, the lost, the little.
Productivity would go to Herod the Great. The Spirit went to an engaged teenage girl.
In the time of men with great power, Caesar Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Herod the Tetrarch, Philip the Tetrarch, Annas and Caiaphas the High Priests… The Spirit found John in the Wilderness!
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene – during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
Luke 3:1-2
I began my journey exploring the Rule of Life because I was productive, but I was not fruitful.
I could stand up and preach. I could play guitar and pick up new songs pretty quickly. I could serve food on the streets. I could quote theologians and memorise Bible verses. I worked for a Christian Charity, I smuggled Bibles, I visited prisoners, I was chased by witch doctors, and I hung out with Christian Celebs. Productive.
But all these things can be done with skill, wit, and charm. They can be done without love (as 1 Corinthians 13 tells us!), the love of Christ, being the driving force.
But, I’m still impatient, ill-tempered, grumpy, judgemental, wilful, selfish, harsh, cold… Unfruitful.
Bearing Fruit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25
I’ve shared this story before, but I remember, seeking some practices for the sake of my mental health – a good intention – I began cultivating a time of prayer in the mornings, trying to centre in on the Father, to start my day. A noble instinct. Yet when my daughters would come and disturb me, I would get really wound up.
One time I was meditating on spending time with the Father, like a child sitting in His lap, in His presence – all spiritual and holy – and Sarah came in wanting to sit on my lap and I impatiently turned her away. Right at that moment, I felt God speak to me gently… it should have been a lightning bolt for my hypocrisy, but it was more of an amused nudge with a Divine eye-roll.
I got the point.
I realised I was productive, and treating spiritual disciplines like Christianized productivity boosters, but I was not fruitful. Not bearing the fruits of the Spirit. Not being like Jesus.
A Rule of Life helps us encounter God and be fruitful.
Less, not More
These practices are not about cramming more into our schedules. Nor are they to make us more efficient, doing more things with less time. They are about renunciation, creating spaces in our lives by clearly realising the most important thing and placing that first – and that is encountering God, as we see Him we become like Him. Having less clutter and more space for what is fundamental to life.
Silence & Solitude, as we have already discussed, is about dialling down the noise so we can hear Him, and halting all the busyness to be still and know that He is God. It is a pruning.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
John 15:1-4
Being in constant direct contact with the vine and being judiciously pruned make us fruitful. As we encounter Him, we bear the hallmarks of people who have encountered the Good Shepherd, the Lover of my Soul, the Prince of Peace, the Gentle One whose burden is light.
To Whom else shall we go?
In some respects, the Rule of Life is wasteful because it isn’t about productivity. It’s not a pragmatic choice. Why spend 15 minutes reading bizarre genealogies or painstakingly specific instructions about making clothing for Priests when you could be catching up on the latest buzz on social media? Why spend 5 minutes being silent, and trying to corral your mind to focus on God, when you could be psyching up or zoning out?
Because, deep down we know that there is nowhere else to go.
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
John 6:67-68
A huge crowd was at Jesus’ command. He had just fed them, five thousand men, not including women and children, so they were literally, and figuratively eating out of His hand. They wanted to make Him king, there and then, and essentially, it was a legion, five thousand fighting men, so, there was a fair chance they could carry it off.
Jesus withdrew. Practicing unproductive, but fruitful silence and solitude. And then He does some teaching that just alienates everybody!
At this pivotal moment, everybody abandons Him, except for the Disciples. When everything is confusing, they find clarity; they realise a key truth. Where else are they going to go? Only Jesus has the words of life.
Man does not live by bread alone, but from every word that comes from God. God is the one who sustains us. This fruit-producing vitality only comes from remaining connected to the vine that is Jesus.
With all the struggles and circumstances beyond our control things could feel like they’re piling up… the challenges of change, health etc… to whom else could I go? Who else would be our firm foundation and safe refuge? Who else can speak words of life that restore the soul?
Mary of Bethany
To conclude I want to take a look at Mary of Bethany. Her story has captured my imagination recently and I think she provides a great example of a fruitful encounter and really zeroing in on the One thing that truly matters, pruning back everything else, and quieting the noise.
Soren Kierkegaard said, “Purity of heart is to will the One thing.” Find that most precious thing!
For Mary, and for us, that is encountering God.
We only know a little bit about Mary of Bethany, and church tradition has tended to conflate the many Marys in the Gospels to build out bigger stories but there are several things that we can confidently know about her.
Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus features in three encounters with Jesus:
- Sitting at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10)
- The death and raising of her brother, Lazarus (John 11)
- The anointing of Jesus with perfume (John 12)
Each of these episodes illustrates the contrast between productivity and fruitfulness, and how often, encountering Jesus can be seen as wasteful and not at all pragmatic.
Fruitful Invitation
When Jesus visits their home in Luke 10, Martha bustles around offering hospitality. Often, we like to contrast Mary and Martha – which is exactly what I am doing now – and Martha comes off in a bad light. But, she is giving honour to her guests. She demonstrates the rich heritage of welcome, so embedded in Middle Eastern culture even today. She is acting like Sarah (Genesis 18), receiving guests with generosity… and like Sarah’s guests, they turn out to be divine.
Mary’s choice is presumptive and shocking. In some senses, it could be considered dishonouring to the guests. Instead of offering hospitality – a hugely valued virtue – she sits at the feet of Jesus, presuming to take the posture of a Rabbi’s student, something encoded in culture as very wrong.
Social mores and even consideration of good character traits tell us that this was not a productive move. Mary casts herself in a bad light. But it was fruitful!
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:41-42
And yet Jesus penetrates through the niceties, the virtues, all the good and respectable things and sees Mary’s heart to encounter Him. The fruit is that Martha is also challenged/invited to do the same. Our Rule of Life practice is never something isolated, it bears fruit that others can benefit from.
Wait and Respond
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.”
When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
Now Jesus had not yet entered the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
John 11:28-33
In John 11, Mary’s brother, a dear friend of Jesus, dies. Jesus eventually makes it to Bethany and the sisters are rightly distraught and wondering why Jesus didn’t come sooner. Marhta, most likely the older sister takes the lead and goes out to meet Jesus. She asks why Jesus didn’t come sooner as surely, He could have done something. Jesus takes a moment to offer some comfort and some theological encouragement.
Martha then goes to summon Mary. Mary had not gone out to welcome Jesus. Instead in her grief, she waited inside. But as soon as she was summoned, she rushed out to Him, and this is emphasised in the text. She waited but was responsive to His voice as soon as she heard it, even amid her grief.
Sometimes we need to be like Martha and boldly take the initiative. But sometimes we need to be like Mary, waiting attentively to hear the voice that calls us and when we hear we respond quickly bringing all that we are and all that we carry into His presence.
And the amazing fruit of this encounter is that she moves Jesus. Her responsiveness elicits a corresponding response from Him. Jesus sees her weeping and responds by weeping.
God responds to her response.
Beautifully Wasteful
And finally, in John 12 Mary anoints Jesus with expensive perfume, wiping His feet with her hair. An extravagant, costly, and undignified outpouring, called out by Judas as being wasteful. And Judas was not wrong in his pragmatic approach. The perfume, instead of being lavishly poured out could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. Productive.
Instead, it was fruitful. It became a beautiful moment in the salvation narrative. As she poured out her perfume it heralded Jesus pouring out His life. Both wasteful. Both fruitful.
And the fascinating thing about this encounter is that it anointed Jesus, but everyone went away smelling of that fragrance.
Fruitfulness may look wasteful. It may not be the most productive use of our time and resources. But if it is an encounter with God, then inevitably, a by-product will be that the lives around us are impacted as well.
A Final Word
Silence & Solitude may seem pointless or wasteful. We have too little time as it is. And it is hard (as Steve outlined). Why take the time!? Surely we can do better things with our time. Sleep a bit more. Listen to a Podcast. But, to encounter God in this particular way – it is worth it! Waste your time in silence and solitude, wait for His voice and respond, and pour out your heart’s perfume in these sacred moments. This is all abiding in the vine, and will all, without worrying about many things, bear fruit in your life and this will impact those around you in ways beyond your control.
Hope Springs Church Coventry 