Every year in this country it happens. The extraordinary miracle that is ‘spring’. Every year I am astounded at the transformation that takes place all around me, before my very eyes, and this year has been no exception. I am talking of course about the trees, hedges and plants that at one moment look dry and dead and the next are thrusting out fresh life. I love watching our very old Horse Chestnut tree as the sticky buds become thick and fat, and then there is this startling emergence of vibrant green leaves, exquisite flowers and then of course the tiny seed pods destined to become shiny conkers some months later. It’s an amazing display of life and energy combining vibrant beauty, with functionality and future propagation.
This year, as I’ve watched the deadness all around give way to life, a fresh thought has struck me. This will be very obvious to some, but it came to me afresh that all this new life comes up and out from within the plant or the tree itself. No one programmes or instructs the tree, no one teaches it how to perform this miracle of life, and no one helps it along by sticking leaves or fruit onto the tree. I should just say here that I am of course aware that grafting and pollinating and producing hybrid fruit trees goes on, but for the purposes of this blog let us stay with pure nature and its stunning ability to perform this miracle unaided year after year.
As I was pondering the fact that the life that generates this transformation comes from within the plant, I fell to thinking about the fact that the Lord chose to liken our transformation into His likeness to ‘fruit bearing’. Jesus Himself of course spoke of us being like the branches of the vine, and Paul named the ‘fruit’ of the Spirit for us, showing us the qualities of character that we can expect our new life in Christ to generate in and from us. Galatians 5:22,23.
The parallels here are helpful for us, for what does a tree or vine need in order to grow and bear fruit? Well first of all that vine or tree needs to have come from good stock, so consider Jesus words ‘if a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit’, John 15:5. We have been grafted into Him, and His life in us gives us the DNA to grow. This is because we were once dead in our trespasses and sins but we have been made alive with Christ. Ephesians 2:1, 5. We are now, because of our new nature, fruit bearing trees. It’s His life in us now and those fruits are His very nature produced in us.
Once we know that the tree is of a good stock, in order for it to grow and bear fruit it will need a trinity of a) good soil, b) lots of water, and c) the warmth of the sun. With those three in place that tree or vine will, from deep within, quite naturally bring all its energy to bear on producing the fruit.
In like manner, in order for us to bear fruit we need :-
a) good soil – the nutrients from the words that God has spoken. Jesus said ‘If you remain in Me and My words remain in you ask whatever you wish and it will be given you’, John 15:7
b) plenty of water – drinking deeply of the Holy Spirit. ‘Be being filled continuously’, Ephesians 5:18.
and c) the warmth of the sun – stay basking in the Fathers love. ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God’ 1 John 3:1
Once again we see that the Christian life is all about what we are receiving and taking in. This receiving is what enables us in our ‘doing’ to bear much fruit and become like Jesus, by letting Him live out His life through ours. So we can take our encouragement today from nature. If I know I am ‘in Christ’ then I already have the right DNA to produce good fruit, what I need to do now is keep ‘feeding’ on His word, keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit, and keep on receiving the love of God.
Let us just thank God today that He has given us a new life, the resurrection life of Jesus, and also that ‘His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness’, 2 Peter 1:3.
