Productivity vs. Fruitfulness
I heard this excellent--and, for me, convicting--chapel talk last Friday at Calvin Seminary. It was a reflection on the distinction between productivity and fruitfulness in the Christian life. It’s well worth reading and reflecting upon. An excerpt:
Fruitfulness is what happens when we reach out with hope, courage and confidence from the anchored place of Christ’s love and acceptance. Fruitfulness is defined by Christ himself in John 15, verses 4 and 5.
‘Remain in me, and I will 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. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a person remains in me and I in them, they will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’
Productivity seeks that which fruitfulness claims as its starting point - namely the assurance of God’s presence and love. Fruitfulness allows you to be fully present in the moment. Fruitfulness is activity deeply rooted in the soil of God’s grace. Fruitfulness is, as Henri Nouwen says, “The realization that I am worth more than the sum total of all my efforts.” Fruitfulness is enabled by a fundamental trust that it is the Holy Spirit, who is working at all times and in all places, is at work in us – busy or not.
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