Taking action… doing before being?

There is a lot of talk in the church about doing certain things to advance the kingdom or how we must discipline ourselves to do so. But is not all of this fruit i.e. not something we do but something that is produced in and through us?

There's often very little talk about how we are moved to action i.e. What moves us and causes us to act, to do, to bear fruit? Seeking to take action/bear fruit without understanding the cause of it would be synonymous to taking a car on a road trip and trying to push the car down the road before understanding the importance and necessity of filling up the tank.

We are not the fuel that drives the engine, God is. So we must understand how we can "tank up" before we ever talk about how to drive the car, turn a corner, or the value of using a map once en route. We must understand what it means to operate and walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

The picture given in Scripture is we must be (abide) before we can ever do. We must be in the presence of God and abide in his love before we can ever bear fruit. Without him, we can do nothing i.e. the car goes nowhere.

For a fuller discussion click here.