What is Kingdom Fruit?

Recently I had the opportunity to preach on the Kingdom in my local church. As part of this message I referred to the warning from Jesus that if we don’t produce the fruit of the Kingdom then God will take the Kingdom from us and give it to someone else who is being productive for the Kingdom (Matt 21:43). Following this message I had an interesting dialogue with my friend Mark Darling.
Mark is a psychologist who specializes in neurofeedback therapy for Autism Spectrum conditions. Neurofeedback is a non-invasive, painless and fun therapy for children on the Spectrum that is based on complex scientific processes. Mark’s dedication to this field of study was initiated by the journey he and Kym have walked with their son Nathan. For many years Mark has pioneered new treatments and he is seeing some amazing results. Listen to this testimony which has been publicized in a national newsletter for parents with Asperger’s Syndrome.
“Our family are BIG fans of the benefits of Neurofeedback. By the time we found out about neuro and Mark Darling our family was at breaking point – our son with Asperger’s Syndrome had been angry, violent and out of control for 3 ½ years (from halfway through Year 6 to Year 9 – aged 10-13). We went to see Mark Darling with little hope of any improvement. We’d tried so many treatments and therapies over the years, and while we’d see a little progress at the start of each one, there was no lasting improvement in behaviour. Family Services suggested we sign him over to become a Ward of the State and for a brief moment we considered doing just that.

Mark told me that the best outcome would be with numerous sessions over quite a few months – twice weekly. He told me that for the first 5 weeks Sam’s behaviour would be slightly better for short periods after each session, but that I would feel like he was “building” to something. Mark said that in the 6th week Sam would have an outburst to end all outbursts (yes – it definitely was!!!) and after that the violence should subside and become extinct quite quickly. That giant, jaw-dropping, heart-wrenching last tantrum was the last Sam has ever had! Sam has continued to use Neurofeedback as his treatment of choice over the years. It’s the only treatment/therapy that gives him instant, consistent results every single time. Now Sam goes twice a year for 4 sessions at a time (2 weeks). He finds that “topping up” this way helps keep him stable.

Sam is now 18 ½ and has been able to live independently from us since September last year for his studies/work in Brisbane. When we initially went to Mark I didn’t think Sam could ever be independent of us. He is now also totally medication free. More importantly, Sam has been able to repair his relationship with his older sister, and they are now regular 18 and 21 year olds, who even socialise together quite often. They care for each other, and consider each other’s feelings. At my husband’s recent 50th birthday celebration they gave a humorous, though moving speech – another accomplishment I hadn’t dreamed was possible. Sam has had a great many successes in his life since starting Neurofeedback. He completed his schooling through TAFE, and is now embarking on a graphic design course at a private college. Our family’s journey with Asperger’s Syndrome is far from over, but we feel extremely blessed to have happened upon Neurotherapy and Mark Darling, quite by chance. Without it I possibly wouldn’t be sitting here today, telling our story and running a successful home business.”

Then in personal email to Mark the mother added “I got quite emotional typing up our story – I could’ve said so much more…. But how do you really explain what it was like – when our family talks about that time in our lives, we can never quite believe how far we’ve come, and how all the hurt has healed since then. I’m not sure I’ve ever really thanked you, but believe me we all think of you as an Angel delivering miracle cures! So thanks from all of us.”

So you would imagine Mark is very encouraged to see how his passion to bring ‘shalom’ to his world is making such an impact. Yes he is – but in an email to me he added “And yet the little voice says what’s the point of all this if they don’t actually get saved and become Christians …” So here’s the rub – what is Kingdom fruit? Is what Mark does producing the Kingdom or does it only become Kingdom if someone makes a personal commitment to Jesus?

Many Christians would claim the latter. The only thing that really counts they believe from God’s view point is personal salvation. But is this what the Scripture teaches. When asked to explain how we should fulfill the great commandment to love our neighbor Jesus used the illustration of the good Samaritan. Nowhere in this story is there the suggestion that seeing the wounded man saved is the measure by which fulfillment of the commandment will be measured. The ministry of Jesus is summarized in Acts in that he went about doing good and healing those who were oppressed (Acts 10:38).

While it’s always possible to swing towards social action and to neglect an emphasis on evangelism – it is wrong I believe to say that those who promote justice, healing, compassion and mercy from a Christian perspective are not reflecting the heart of God and thus producing the fruit of the Kingdom. As they do this they are sowing seeds of hope and salvation that will in many cases turn people’s hearts towards encountering for themselves the reality of a personal relationship with the King of the Kingdom.

To find out more about Mark’s work visit his website