Yesterday was a small group day again and we watched another segment of the Bruce Wilkinson series, Secrets of the Vine. If you have been following this blog, then you probably know that I had some reservations about the point of the last installment, but this week's message was a homerun. Wilkinson brought home what I see as the most crucial point of John 15, that the fruit of the spirit comes from our abiding in Christ. Sometimes, we view our church and community activities as the means to produce more fruits for God's kingdom. Service and works are good, but when we perform these activities at the expense of true personal communion with Christ, then we limit--not expand--our ability to produce fruit. Wilkinson uses the perfect example of Mary and Martha during Christ's visit. Martha busied herself by "serving" Christ and his followers, while Mary abided with Christ and enjoyed his presence. When Martha protested, Christ replied that only one thing was needed (Christ Himself). The greater meaning of this truth is that 1) we should make a renewed commitment to "basking in Christ" through daily prayer, meditation, scripture reading, etc. and 2) our idea of fruit must be adjusted to de-emphasize flashy "fruits" and high-profile shows of spiritual bravado, while we re-emphasize the more subtle fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. This should also serve as a warning to all those in mission around the world--our mission must depend first on our own relationship with Christ.