Throughout the Bible we see different aspects of God as our father, for instance, him being a shepherd, and in Christ as a husband. God is also described as a husbandman ploughing and sowing seed in our lives unto bringing forth a harvest. He also is the architect, building up our lives so He can dwell in us by his Spirit. He is also depicted as the gardener, which means that we are the planting of the Lord. Because He has conferred his kingdom upon us, He is expecting us to bear fruit. God loves us so much, that in order to enable us to be fruitful, we are in an inseparable union and relationship with Christ, giving us access into the very being of God. We have also been given his righteousness. The Christian life is not a set of rules or behaviour regulation, but a relationship. We need to not only have union with God, but also be in communion with him. This gives us the power unto fruitfulness. Union with God without the communion (fellowship) results in a joyless, formal, and fruitless type of Christianity. We must earnestly desire this intimate relationship with God. He did the union part, and we need to do the communion part. Love is a verb, so to love God is to live for him. To live a faith-filled, powerful, and fruitful life, which is pleasing to God, we need to continuously abide in fellowship with Christ. In this relationship He will lovingly prune out of us that which hinders our fruitfulness so that we bear more fruit and are enabled to do all things through him. The keys to abiding are walking by faith, practising God’s presence, and living intentionally – all of this in reliance upon God’s power which is resident within us.
