A Tale of Two Trees

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Galatians 5 (click the link)


KEY PASSAGE:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
Not too long ago I came home from a day at the church office to find that a tree had suddenly appeared in our living room. It was a magnificent tree, with branches stretching almost 9 feet in height and 4 feet in diameter. It sparkled with its multicolored decorations and seemed alive with lights and bells and angels and glass balls and all kinds of trinkets and ornaments.

Or at least, it looked alive. In reality, of course, it wasn't. It was all a show. A month or so later I returned home as the decorations were being taken down. It was almost bleak by comparison. The tinsel and colored balls went back into boxes and the tree was thrown out. Nothing had actually been growing on it. It looked magnificent, but it was all artificial.

………

Many years ago, when I was a small child, my grandfather planted a number of pecan trees on a parcel of land my family owns down in South Texas. At the time, we didn't have a water well on the property so he would have to transport water in plastic milk jugs to nourish the young saplings. Ever so faithfully, he would fill dozens of milk cartons, carry them out to the bed of his truck, drive more than one hour, water each of the 20 or so trees by hand, and drive more than an hour to return home. A few days later, he'd repeat the process all over again. Many of his friends and family heaped scorn on him for all his labors, telling him he was wasting his time. But he would simply smile and say "Those trees will bear fruit some day."

Now, many years later, our property is lined with beautiful pecan trees—some 30 or 40 feet in height—that produce an abundant yield of the best pecans you'll ever taste. Before his death in late 2010, my grandfather found extreme joy every year in harvesting, shelling, and sharing those delicious pecans with folks all throughout the Uvalde area. Including many of the same people who once laughed at him.

………

In this chapter, and in many of his other writings, the Apostle Paul sets a contrast between "flesh" and "Spirit." He also uses a couple of key words that go with them both. He speaks of the acts of the "flesh," but the fruit of the Spirit. Compare the Christmas tree for a minute with the ordinary, humdrum but real pecan trees that my grandfather planted. The Christmas tree looked wonderful for a short while, but then it get tossed out. The pecan trees may not look so spectacular, but they go on bearing fruit year after year. Which is more important? You hardly have to ask.

………

As a young believer in Christ, I constantly struggled with frustration at my inability to live a life that exhibited love, joy, peace, and the like. When I was in a controlled setting, such as at church or around a bunch of believers, I typically was able to act loving, joyful, peaceful and kind. But when various other situations would arise, I would find myself lashing out in anger or gossiping against others or getting bogged down with worry. No matter how hard I tried, I found myself consistently failing to live a life that showcased the kind of characteristics Paul described in verses 22-23. And this was a source of great angst to me.

I eventually came to realize that my frustration was due to a misunderstanding of Paul's teaching about the fruit of the Spirit. I thought—and I don't think I was alone in this—that I was supposed to try to love others, to try to be joyful, to try to be at peace, to try to bear all of the nine characteristics Paul mentions as if they were a list of commands to be obeyed.

But then, by God's grace, I was led to a new understanding. It was pointed out to me that living trees do not bear fruit by trying to do so. They simply bear fruit naturally—because it is their nature to do so. Pecan trees bear pecans because they are pecan trees. Apple trees bear apples because they are apple trees. Peach trees bear peaches because they are peach trees. Living trees simply receive nourishment from the soil and bear fruit as a natural part of life.

Similarly, we do not exhibit the characteristics Paul mentioned by trying hard to do so. These are not commands, they are characteristics indicative of the type of life we live when we are nourished by God's Spirit, when we "walk in the Spirit" (verse 16). 

………

Paul simply uses different words to describe the same type of life we live when we embrace Jesus' invitation in John 15: 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

We will never be able to bear fruit on our own, through our own strenuous efforts at obedience. We can surely put on a good show, we can smile and pray and say "I love you" and give the appearance of faithfulness. Just like Christmas trees, we can put on a good act. But if we do these things in our own strength, our true colors will eventually be seen. What's inside of us will eventually come out (Matthew 12:33-37; 15:16-20).

As believers, we are invited into a life of continual intimacy with Jesus, a life of walking in the Spirit. And if we will accept this invitation—if we will come to the Lord just as we are, with all our faults and failings, but with a heart surrendered to his leading—he will produce within us the kind of life that naturally and easily bears the fruit of his character.

POINT OF ACTION:

The key to living a life that bears the fruit of the Spirit is simple: Spend time with Jesus—embrace his yoke and learn from him (Matthew11:28-30). The only effort we are to make is to come to Jesus—daily, hourly, moment by moment—and to humbly ask him to change us on the inside, to conform our spirit to his. We ask him to open our eyes to see God as he truly is, to see ourselves as he sees us, to see others as he sees them, to see life from his perspective. We admit our inabilities and ask that he might pour his life into us so that we might live in a way that exhibits his character. As we come to Jesus, he changes our inward character so that the deeds of love naturally—but supernaturally—flow from our lives.

WHO AM I?

My name is Tres Sansom and my favorite place in the world is the plot of land our family owns down in South Texas. It's a 42 acre parcel located a little northwest of Yancey. I have so many childhood memories of exploring and adventuring and hunting all across this rugged piece of property. The air is so fresh and the land is so alive on this little piece of heaven. I love to relax on the shaded porch of our trailer house, feeling the cool refreshment of the evening breeze. I love the sit in our deer stand, watching all the critters scurry about. I love to sit around the campfire, telling tall tales. I love to simply be in this special place.