This passage is a reminder to all of us: faith is not supposed to be easy. We often buy the idea that faith should be easier, and that we're messing up somewhere along the way. The reality is that faith is hard, and Jesus never portrayed it as something easy. The world is aligned against us -- we have so many competing priorities, so many other things that cry out for our attention, many of them seeming more urgent than faith.
And yet, Jesus says -- hold fast. Hold fast in an honest and good heart, and be patient, and fruit comes. If you plant an apple tree, you don't walk outside the next day and expect apples. It takes time. When you plant tomatoes, you don't hope for homemade salsa the next week. It takes time. In the same way, when we follow Christ, it takes years and decades for the Holy Spirit to root in our hearts and for fruit to be displayed to the world. Hold fast, Christ says, and trust in God with patience in our hearts. Do not give up.
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