You're supposed to bring a gift...

When you’re invited over to someone’s home for dinner, you’re obligated to bring a gift. Think about the last time you were invited to someone’s house. In most cases, the host is working hard throughout the day or even week to prepare their home for your presence—planning, organizing, and cleaning in preparation for your arrival. On top of that, the host is preparing diligently to provide a delicious meal, drinks, and hopefully dessert. They are putting in a good amount of effort for your arrival—they, without a doubt, are expecting you to bring a gift. You must bring a gift.

No, I am not talking about the age-old custom of bringing a bottle of wine, flowers, or a small token of appreciation to the host. That’s not expected, but it sure is nice. I’m talking about the whole reason you’re being invited over for dinner in the first place. You’re invited over for dinner because the host wants you to bring them a gift!

May I suggest the best gift? I would bring a huge basket of fresh fruit. You heard me: delicious fruit.

That’s exactly what Messiah might suggest—he always brought fresh fruit wherever he went. Didn’t you notice?

To put plainly, you were invited over to the host's home for a reason: to bring the gift of a good time. The host wishes to enjoy your company—to enjoy your presence. That’s an expectation; a rightful one at that. Nobody goes to another’s house, says nothing, eats, and leaves. No. One is expected to converse. Interact. Share each other’s presence. Make good memories. In fact, isn’t that what you expect when you go to someone else’s house for dinner? A good time?

You’re expected to bring a good gift, not a bad one. And you look forward to a gift when you arrive as well. Most people rarely take the time to consider these expectations.

Obviously, I’m not talking about bananas, oranges, and grapes—I am talking about your character. Are you a good time? Are you enjoyable to be around? Do you bear good fruit?

I’m not sure if we think about this much, but who we are is majorly defined by the presence we carry wherever we go. How we carry ourselves and treat others is what defines us. Our actions define us. Our demeanor and behaviors are what help define our environment and the environment around us.

Think of this scenario: You’re going out to dinner with someone you just met. When you meet them at the restaurant, they greet you with a warm smile and seem excited to see you. They tell you how nice you look and that they have been looking forward to meeting with you. The smile they carry never leaves. You both sit down, and the waiter greets you with a warm welcome and sincere smile, asks you if you’ve been there before, and happily finds out it's your first time. The waiter seems excited that you’re there and energetically gives you interesting suggestions of what to drink and eat. You put your orders in and begin to enjoy conversation. The person you’re with seems genuinely interested in the experiences you’re sharing as they listen attentively. You’re having such a great time that it takes a while for you to realize that your food has been taking quite some time. Just then the waiter arrives and apologizes for the long wait, the food was taking longer than usual. The person you’re with continues to smile and expresses understanding and patience to the waiter. You both go back to talking joyfully. The waiter returns with your order and after waiting for so long the person you’re with is served the wrong entrée. They kindly inform the waiter, who apologizes profusely, and the person you’re with holds strong to their smile and graciously tells the waiter that it is no problem and is completely understanding. The night goes on with sincere conversation and smiles all around. The waiter even brings dessert to you both "on the house" as an apology for the issues. What a night… what a gift.

Think of the exact opposite experience: you’re meeting that same person you barely know, and they arrive without a smile to greet you. They don’t seem that excited to see you. You both go sit down and it’s a regular interaction with the waiter, nothing special. The waiter seems like they don’t even want to be there and that they hate their job. Instead of suggestions they just take your order and move on without a smile. As you try to have a conversation with your company, they continue to take periodic glances around the room, barely paying attention to what you have to say. You share something exciting; they respond with negativity… complaints. You start to get the idea that this person is kind of grumpy, upset about something, and maybe having a bad day. You easily notice that time is slipping by, and you haven’t seen your waiter in a while—the food is late. The waiter finally returns to tell you that the kitchen is running behind—your company is a little snappy with them. They expected their food to be here already, and they are very hungry. They are obviously unhappy and you feel a little embarrassed by their reaction. The food arrives and your company didn’t get what they had ordered. They are definitely not happy now and they make it crystal clear to the server. The night continues like this… no dessert. And you deal with a few more complaints from your company before the night ends. What a night… what a gift.

Think about those two contrasting experiences. Who would you rather go to dinner with?

You see, we all want to go to dinner with the first person. That kind of person brings light wherever they go. They are a joy to be around. They are patient, kind, sincere. They are loving and peaceful. They have self-control and don’t let inconveniences or incidents take away their gentleness and instead provide forgiveness and understanding. They are faithful to their character and their desire to be a light to those around them. They bring a good gift to everyone they meet and wherever they go.

To the point, they bear good fruit. Think of that kind of person's impact on you, the waiter, and everyone else they are around. People crave such a light in their life—people need peace among the chaos of life. I hope this stirs us to ask ourselves: What gift do I bring to the table?

The reality is that such a person isn’t cultivated overnight. Sure, one can put on their best show for a first date or a first meeting, right? Yet, if it’s a show or a front, most people can’t keep it up for long. This is because good fruit is cultivated from within a person through intentional character development. We must strive to cultivate such good fruit! It's something each of us has to work at, intentionally, every single day.

How we cultivate and groom our internal selves is the catalyst of the fruit we bear to others. Frankly, most of us don’t realize how important intentional character development really is. This is apparent when we go out into the world and experience other people who just don’t seem very happy or get quickly agitated or treat those around them poorly. These kinds of people, who aren’t forgiving and who don’t bring a level of peace with them in the room—do they even smile?

We should strive to bear good fruit. Fresh fruit.

Scripture speaks of believers being a light to the world and bearing the good fruit of the Spirit. That fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. How do we bear such things? Scripture says we intentionally repent and walk away from the opposite of those things. To bear good fruit, we must first examine ourselves and search for any darkness within us. Are we carrying anger? Are we depressed in any way? Are we sick and tired of something? We can also look to the fruit we already bare, searching for any bad fruit. Do I complain a lot? Am I grumpy? Am I patient with others? Am I more positive than negative? Do I smile? Do I encourage or discourage? Would I like to be around myself?

I say we should bear fresh fruit because I believe this is a constant process and we should always be bearing new ways and experiences of the good fruit of the Spirit. Personally, I know that I have so much room to grow and many ways I need to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Yet, I am still excited every day to do my best to be a light to those around me. Why? Because I know we all need it. I need it. Furthermore, I am so grateful and so uplifted when I am around people who smile, encourage, are joyful, peaceful, and are patient when I fall short. These are the types of people I appreciate being surrounded by. These are the types of people I can count on. These are the types of people that make life worth living—and I want to be that type of person for you.

We must ask ourselves: Do I bear the fruit of the Spirit?

The fruits of the Spirit are the very ways and character of Almighty God. He is all those good things and in incredible ways. He calls us to bear this good fruit and made us in his image to do that very thing on earth. Frankly, it's our life’s purpose: to bear such good fruit. God created us to bear his image on earth and walk in his likeness among all creation. And what a gift that is to everyone you encounter.

So… will you be bringing a good gift to dinner? To the grocery store? To the workplace? Will you bring a good gift to the dentist or even the DMV?

The best place to start cultivating good fruit is within yourself. With intention and dedication. I started by asking God to give me a new heart and a desire to bear His good fruit. Then I looked to his revelation of who He is because if anyone knows how to bear good fruit, it’s God himself. The one who designed my DNA and set the world in self-sustaining motion—so self-sustaining that it supports over 7,880,000,000+ people. God's image should be our goal—our finish line to strive for. This is obvious when I look at his son Messiah, who truly bears good fruit and looks exactly like his Father. Messiah who has touched the lives of millions. I want to bear their image, cultivate a character like them, be a light to those around me, and bring the gift of good fruit wherever I go.

Set a goal today and write it on paper: who do you want to be for yourself and for others? My advice, if you don’t mind me giving it, is to truly set out to learn who our creator is. Open Holy Scripture on the first page; slowly and carefully read it all the way through from the beginning to the end. Learn who God is and strive to be just like him. Will you join me?

I hope this encourages you to bring a good gift to dinner. I know your company will surely appreciate it.

---

Sean is a former Atheist who was finally awoken to the reality of our Creator—which led him to the one place he thought he would never step foot: “Bible College.” During his studies, our Heavenly Father flipped his Christian worldview upside down in order to reveal the whole truth of His perfect Word. As a follower of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), Sean encourages believers to deepen their faith, seek the truth, test everything, and be willing to walk in the true image they were created: the image of the Most High and His flawless Son.