If we rise up to bear fruit and care for the young ones, we will realize our shortage. We will realize that we do not have enough growth in the divine life. To be a Christian we need to grow, but we may have been in the Lord and in the church for many years without the proper growth in life. We may have been content merely to come to the meetings without any desperation for the growth in life. We would be bothered if our child had no growth after several years, Likewise, we all have to be bothered about our lack of growth in life. The way some dear saints speak and consider the things concerning the church indicates that they are not only childish but also babyish. They have too little growth in life. The reason we may lack the growth in life but still be content is that we do not care for fruit bearing and taking care of the young ones. Once we rise up to bear fruit and care for spiritual children, we will discover that we need the growth in life.
Many saints have been spiritually disabled by the lack of growth in life and the shortage of skill. On the one hand, we may lack the growth in life. On the other hand, even if we go to contact people, we may not have the skill to converse with them. To speak to people properly requires much learning and coaching. Without being taught by a “coach,” we will not be able to “play ball.” We will just “play” in the natural way, which is not effective. We need to be coached in every aspect of speaking to people. After being coached for a short time, we will be able to speak very skillfully.
It is not right to be fruitless, but to bear fruit requires skill. Therefore, there is the need of much learning. We must endeavor to learn. We all can use our leisure time to learn something for the Lord. Daily we may need eight hours for sleeping and eight hours for working. This leaves some leisure time. Worldly leisure leads us into sin, but using our leisure time for spiritual matters leads us into fellowship with the Lord. Using our leisure time in this way will benefit us, our family, our relatives, and society.
We must learn how to contact people, how to reach people, and how to converse with people. In the past we preached the gospel in a casual way. We simply invited people to a gospel meeting every several months. We did not need to learn to speak or to preach. A good speaker took care of the preaching in the meeting. This idle way of letting others serve the Lord for us offends the Lord and offends the principle of the Body of Christ. The church is the Body of Christ, and just as every part of our body functions, all the members of the Body of Christ function. Simply to invite people to a meeting is not adequate.
We cannot expect that there will be many excellent speakers among us. It may even be that in a certain local church there are no good speakers. However, that church must still do something to bear fruit. Not everyone can be a good cook, but everyone can cook something. No family can survive simply by inviting good cooks to cook for them. Such a family will eventually starve. Everyone can cook. After cooking for a certain time, we will learn to cook well. If we cannot cook well, it is because we have not practiced. To depend upon a great evangelist for fruit bearing is wrong. There are not many big evangelists among us, and those who may be such persons should restrict their functioning in order to let all the saints exercise their function. It is not good for a shoulder to function in a way which annuls the function of the other members. The annulling of the functions of the members is a paralysis in the Body of Christ. We have to keep every part of the Body active and functioning. Then the Body will be healthy.