During our 30th Anniversary Celebration in Davao last year, the Lord’s message for us was very clear: “Unless you have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot be a Christian businessman or professional and you cannot win the marketplace for Christ”. In other words, unless we are connected to the Lord Jesus and have the Spirit of the Lord Jesus in us, we cannot be His disciples and we cannot bear fruit for the Lord.

This year, the Lord reminds us: “I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We must remain connected to our Lord Jesus. We must continue to abide in Him who is the source of life, in order to bear much fruit. The Lord is telling us that it is not our activity that produces fruit, it is our personal relationship with Him.

I have heard some BCBP Chapters complain that the New Basic Formation Program is too long such that only a few are able to complete it. Some chapters are also complaining that their breakfast is already boring and it is very hard to get new breakfasters. It seems that when we are not bearing fruit, our first tendency is to blame our activity.

However, the Lord is reminding us that when we are not bearing fruit for the Lord we should check out our relationship with Him. Are we connected to the Lord Jesus? Do we have the Spirit of the Lord Jesus in us such that we are able to manifest His love to each other in our interpersonal relationships?

What will attract others to Christ is the love and care which we manifest to each other in our interpersonal relationships, the love and care which comes from our personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. What will attract others to our BCBP Community is the witnessing we do for Christ in our family, in our businesses and professions, in our Community.

We are called to evangelize others in the way we live our lives, imitating Christ and living out Christian values where the Lord has planted us and manifesting the fruit of His Spirit that is in us — ”love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, humility and self-control” (Gal 5:22).

Each one of us must ask him/herself: Do I have the Spirit of Christ in me? Am I bearing much fruit for the Lord?

The bottom line is: “Remain in Me and bear much fruit”. Only when we abide in Christ and He abides in us, can we truly make an impact in the marketplace as Christian businessmen and professionals!