Not all plants flower in the Spring. You can see that one of my so-called Christmas Cactus plants is just bursting into bloom right now.
Some plants flower when the snow is still on the ground, some flower in the Spring, or the Summer, and the yellow Winter Jasmine can provide colour when everything else is looking dead.
I think that people are like that in some respects. Some people have their best times are in their early years, or maybe their teens. Others have their best times in later years, maybe not even until they are retired. Plants blossom - and then their purpose is to bear fruit - fruit that will last.
Jesus talked about that in John 15. Someone who lives 'in' Jesus bears much fruit; for apart from him we can do nothing. That passage talks about fruitful branches being pruned to make them more fruitful, and fruitless branches being discarded.
But I think that a plant benefits from all of its branches. They may not all produce fruit, but the branches that are 'fruitless' still provide energy for the plant, and support and shelter for the other branches. Even the invisible roots play their part.
Today the Body of Jesus, the Church, benefits from the contributions of everyone who supports it. Whether you are bearing visible fruit, or invisible fruit, keep up the good work so that the plant may flourish and grow, and bear much fruit.
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