Rotten bananas

There is nothing more unappealing than a black, mushy, spotted, decomposing, rotten banana. Such fruit is no longer appetizing. The once sweet and satisfying snack passes it's prime and becomes destined for the garbage can. Not even a hungry monkey would want this fruit.
Bananas go bad so quickly, don't you think? Seemingly overnight the once vibrant yellow of the banana's skin turns dull and before you know it brown specks abound. Banana buyer beware: the fruit you are about to purchase won't look tasty for long. So eat up...and fast!
When a banana goes bad in the summer, oh boy, watch out for the fruit fly invasion! When I told you there is nothing appealing about a rotten banana I wasn't speaking from a fruit fly's perspective. They are probably the only living organism on earth that find pleasure in a rotten banana. In fact, the more rotten bananas the better if you were to ask a fruit fly. Which would be challenging since they don't talk or even meow. You'll just have to take my word for it or watch fruit flies descend on a rotten banana. You'll see what I mean. All you have to do is leave a decomposing banana out on the counter for five minutes in the month of August and you'll see the little bugs appear. They have rotten banana radar.
Thankfully, I'm nothing like a fruit fly and therefore I want nothing to do with rotten bananas or any other rotten fruit for that matter. I want the good fruit, fresh off the vine. I want fruit that is so fresh it never even has to be transported on a truck or shipped across the state, country or county. I'd like apples right off the tree and berries plucked directly from the bush that grew the delicate beauty. The kind of fruit I crave is vibrant, colorful, flavorful and oh so fresh!
I want fresh fruit on more than just my plate, but in my spiritual life, too. My kitchen counter isn't the only place where fruit can go to rot. In my spiritual life I am constantly at risk of the slow decay and rot that comes from being detached from the vine. To remain fresh I must remain constantly attached to my vine, The Lord Jesus Christ.
The moment I detach from The Lord, my lifeline, my mighty Tree and Vine, I begin to rot. The process of perishing might be slow or, like a banana during a hot August, the process might come quickly. No matter the speed the result is the same: detached from the vine I go bad.
Bad spiritual fruit stinks as much as bad fruit purchased in the grocery store or your local 7/11. Rotten spiritual fruit is unappealing in the eyes of The Lord, only desirable to the fruit flies of this world. I don't want to produce fruit only attractive and appetizing for a fruit fly. I want the fruit that pleases The Lord. I want to produce the fragrant, bountiful, beautiful fruit that brings glory to my Savior.
To produce good fruit I must heed the command of Jesus given in John 15:5, "If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit..." To produce fruit you and I must remain constantly attached to our vine, never separating, never losing our grip and connection. God is the root system, the vital lifeblood, producer of all good fruit and giver of life. He will produce the most beautiful and desirable fruit in us when we remain in Him.