Sweet or Bitter Fruit

II Kings 4:39 - 41 "And one [of the prophets] went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. But [Elisha] said 'Then bring meal'. And he cast it into the pot, and he said, 'Pour out for the people, that they may eat' and there was no harm in the pot."

Last weekend my husband, youngest son and I went out west, to outback New South Wales, which is a drought stricken, harsh land of deep red soil, thirsty gum trees and saltbush plains. However I noticed many small green, lush looking vines growing by the roadsides, and in the adjacent paddocks. Closer inspection showed pretty little round green striped melons, which surely looked good to eat, surprisingly untouched by rabbits, birds or other animals. I believe they are called paddymelons, wild vines....
We brought one back, as I thought that even if the melon was not tasty, it may be good for jam.

When I cut the melon, I put my finger to my mouth, and discovered that it was the most bitter, disgusting taste that I had ever experienced. In fact, I could not eliminate the bitterness from my fingers even after washing them. Needless to say, the pretty striped melon was discarded. Not even jam would have been possible.

This is the fruit of the wild vine, bitter and inedible. It is useless for food.

Perhaps these were the melons which the unsuspecting prophet chopped into the stew, thinking that they looked good and would be delicious to the taste, only to be horribly disappointed.

But Elisha brought flour, a measure of meal, surely a picture of the Lord Himself, our Bread of Life, and applied it to the pot of death. And the stew became edible, and good to taste. The bitterness disappeared.

I thought about how, outside of the Lord, our fruit can only be bitter. Can the Lord taste of us and say that we are sweet to Him? Can others say that we bring life to them? Nourish them by our words and deeds? Or do we look good on the outside but bring only death and bitterness like the wild vine? Jesus is clear that it is by a person's fruit that we will know them.

Luke 6:43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth corrupt tree bring forth good fruit"

Jesus does not say by our gifts, but by our fruit we shall be known. Fruit is about character, the Life of Jesus Himself in us, and this will last, as we abide in the True Vine and draw our nourishment from Him. If I act out of self, or begin to wander away in the darkness of my own understanding, or harbour those thoughts of resentment or bitterness, then I begin to grow wild, and my fruit will be like the abominable taste of the wild melon. When I submit to His pruning, feed on Him daily and remain firmly in the vine, then my fruit can only be pleasant and abundant.

Song of Songs 4:12, 16 "......Let my beloved come into His garden and eat His pleasant fruits"