Summer’s First Fruits
Devotions for Growing Christians
Summer’s First Fruits
James 1:18-25 - In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be the first fruits among His creatures. 19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.
It’s spring in New England, and the blossoms are covering the fruit trees. They’re not only beautiful, but they’re a promise of the harvest to come. The first fruits of summer will soon be here!
Christians are a kind of “first fruits.” James 1:18 tells us that God brought us forth by His Word to be “first fruits among His creatures.” God planted the good seed of His Word in the responsive ground of our hearts. He saw that seed take root in our lives. He carefully watered and cultivated. He watched us blossom in the spring-time of our new life in Christ And now He’s looking for us to be the first fruit of the summer harvest.
We are the first fruit, because the harvest has only begun. The Word of God makes certain that some day all creation will be subject to the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:18-23). Every growing Christian is part of the early fruit of this great harvest!
Gratitude and dedication is part of the term “first fruits.” In the Old Testament, the first fruits of the harvest were presented to the Lord as a sacrifice in gratitude for His goodness, and in recognition of His faithfulness (Leviticus 23:10). Romans 12:1 gives the concept of presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice - in grateful recognition of what the Lord has done for us.
The rest of our James 1 passage speaks about hearing, receiving, and doing the Word of God. What does this have to do with first fruits? When you plant an apple seed you expect the fruit to be apples, so if the seed that brought forth the first fruit was the Word of God, then the Word of God should characterize the fruit. "Like seed, like fruit," is what God is teaching us. How then, as first fruits, can we be characterized by the Word of God, the very seed that birthed us? By hearing and receiving God's Word (v19-21) and by hearing and obeying God's Word (v22-25).
We are to make a deliberate effort to split from sin, and then to receive the implanted Word (v19-21).
Implanted means it is already there! Well, no wonder - it is the very seed planted by God that resulted in our new birth (1 Peter 1:23). But now we are to hear and receive the Word. A Christian hasn't really received a particular portion of God's Word until it begins to transform his life. For example, you haven't received the 23rd Psalm if you are still "wanting.” Wanting your own way, frustrated about your future, or angry about your lot in life means you’re denying - not receiving. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..." Read the whole Psalm and ask yourself, have I received it?
We are to receive the Word in humility or with meekness (v21).
This means we must be willing to submit and yield to the teaching. We are to let God change us through His Word. In this way the Word "saves our souls." God uses His Word not only to save our souls from eternal damnation, but to save us from present damage as well. Our ticket to Heaven was good the day the seed was implanted. Now as we continually receive God's Word - and submit to it - we are preserved from problems in our present Christian life.
We are told to be doers of the Word (v22-25).
Obedience to God's Word! Remember, if we are first fruits, we are to be characterized by the Word of God inside and out. To hear and receive is to be characterized internally and subjectively by the Word. To hear and obey is to be characterized externally and objectively by the Word.
Take the Great Commission. We could memorize Matthew 28:18-20, or we could go to seminary and study everything about this Scripture - but still it may be hearing only! When we begin to hear and receive the words of the Great Commission, such as, "All authority is given unto Me" and "I am with you always," our lives begin to be transformed from the inside out. How can we possibly be up tight and frustrated when we've really received these truths?
But there is also a command to hear and obey. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you." We may be really digging into the Word of God, but until we begin to verbalize the gospel to our co-workers or our neighbors, or until we're actively involved in discipling or teaching someone, we are not hearing and obeying the Word of God. In fact we are deceiving ourselves (James 1:22).
When our external lifestyle begins to change, then we can consider ourselves obedient to the Word. Until that point we’re like someone who takes a quick glance in a mirror (v23-24). How can a brief look at your reflection possibly make a major change? But when we look intently into God's perfect Word (v25)- and obey it - then our lives will begin to reflect the glory of God. And that's where the blessing is too!
The end of verse 25 tells us that we are blessed when we do - not when we merely hear. Do you want to know the love and blessing and joy of God in your life? Then stop wishing and start obeying! This is exactly what the Lord Jesus tells us: "If you keep my commandments you will abide in My love: just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:10-11).
Soon we’ll see the summer’s first fruit in the fields and orchards all over our country. In your travels this summer, let the sight of the fulfillment of nature remind you that we too are to be “first fruit” for our Lord. What a disappointment it must be for God if, after a beautiful blossom, the fruit turns out to be spoiled and marred. Let’s be fruit for the Lord that is characterized by His holy Word - inside and out!
- Dave Reid