Tag Archives: Fruit of the Spirit

That doesn’t belong here!

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Marcia and I took a tour of several Amish country stores in Northern Iowa. They were recommended by one of my nurses so we thought it would be a good day trip on the way to our “Mayo Clinic vacation.” Traversing the muddy country roads, we came across a number of Amish buggies, including one driven by a very young boy presumably taking his even younger siblings home from school. Wherever we looked, everything spoke “Amish” to us: the horse-drawn buggies, the conservative and modest dress, clothes hanging on the line, draft horses pulling wagons or tied to the post at the general store, waiting for their owner to return from his tasks. It all fit together perfectly. . . except one item tucked in amidst the large bags of bulk flour, the containers of bulk spices, and the “penny” candy display:

imageAmish Country MICROWAVE Popcorn.

The package pictures a horse-drawn buggy returning to a rustic Amish Farm, of course with NO electricity running to the house! I pictured a quiet scene of an Amish family sitting around their fireplace, telling stories and recalling the events of the day, while cooking Microwave Popcorn. It gave me a chuckle because it didn’t seem to fit in.

I notice, my life is sometimes like that too. Our road trip was delayed after spending nearly two hours communicating between medical providers and insurance company. Again, authorizations for various tests weren’t completed. As I drove to Minnesota, I could feel the frustration tensing up my neck muscles.  My brow was furloughed by the worry of wondering if I would be denied critical testing due to unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. Disappointment and even a bit of anger rose up within me. It wasn’t that I was in a rage or anything like that. And ultimately I understood that everything will work out. I’ll get tests back in Iowa if needed. I maintained a calm demeanor throughout the multiple conversations after being transferred from one agent to another. But I realized, “Something doesn’t belong here.”

Christians aren’t perfect. We don’t have our act together all the time. We have real emotions that accompany real disappointments just like anyone else. But we are also called to be different, set apart. It’s one thing to experience a bit of frustration or to have concern for something that isn’t right. It’s quite another to dwell there and let it hang like a dark cloud over the whole day.

Like the Amish Microwave Popcorn or the “three are the same – one is different” game  my grandchildren play, some things “don’t belong” in a life of faith. That is to say, they shouldn’t characterize our response.

Anger crowds out love. Dissatisfaction impedes joy. Worry defeats peace. Demanding overpowers patience. Self-concern shoves away kindness and goodness. Over-assertiveness crushes gentleness. Insisting on my own way casts faithfulness aside. And impulsiveness drowns self-control.

As I reflect on how many things God has shown me during this unexpected journey through cancer – his mercy, love, and faithfulness to name just a few – I’m aware of how this journey is shaping me lIke the clay on the potter’s wheel. And still, for as long as you and I live these human lives, there will be some things that don’t belong. Things like pervasive worry, dominating fear, and persistent anxiety contradict the faith we claim. True, we will likely experience all these and other negative, unproductive and harmful emotions at one time or another. But if we dwell in them, it becomes clear that It’s time to put off the things that don’t belong and put on the attitudes that reflect who we are meant to be.

It’s time to trade our sorrows for the joy of the Lord, anxiety for peace, fear for assurance, and a demanding character for one that his more gentle and humble,  patient and kind, governed by self-control. What doesn’t belong in your life? Give it up and let God replace it with something better.

 

It’s not enough to be sorry

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I remember Don Knight speaking words of wisdom to a group of men at church years ago. He encouraged us all to speak “those three little words” every woman desperately longs for a man to say. You’re probably thinking he was going to remind us the importance of saying, “I love you.” But according to Don, the three little words most important and most cherished by women are those spoken by the man who admits, “I was wrong!”

 

The popular movie, “Love Story” became famous for it’s punch line, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Even the actor who spoke the line looks back and says, “What rubbish!” Love means admitting you’re wrong and saying you’re sorry. It’s sometimes hard to say it because quite truthfully we want to be right. But as perfect as you might be, there will come a time when you will not be right and it will be best to swallow the pride and say “those three little words.”

 

But it’s not really enough, is it? We can’t just say “I was wrong. I’m sorry.” Something more is required. The purpose of admitting being wrong and sorry is to change our thinking and our behavior so we don’t find ourselves in that same situation again! The spiritual word for this is repentance, which means to turn away from wrong and change.

 

Some folk complained to Jesus about other “sinners.” Jesus’ response was that there aren’t some who are worse sinners than others and that “unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:3)

 

The truth is, we all fall short. (Romans 3:23) None of us hit the mark. Maybe some days, we aren’t even aiming at the right target. We aim too low in pursuing personal ambitions and filling our sense of self-worth. We aim to “keep busy” rather than to live with purpose. We set up goals that really won’t satisfy us at life’s end. Sometimes we don’t even set up any goals, but just coast through life as it happens to us. Our lives, while designed to be fruitful in spiritual ways, encouraging to others and honoring to God, sometimes may be barren of any good and lasting value.

 

A couple retired and sold their home. They purchased a boat and spent all their last days collecting sea shells. Piper asks, “How will they answer God when he calls them home and asks what they did with the life he gave them? “I collected sea shells?!” What a waste!”” (John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life)

 

Jesus tells the story of a man who had a fig tree that never bore fruit. Year after year it remained barren. He was going to have it cut down. But the man who took care of his vineyard pleaded with him, “Leave it alone for one more year and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not then cut it down.” (Luke 13:6-9)

 

It’s not enough to be sorry that our lives are so barren of God’s love, joy, and peace. It’s not enough to feel regret that we lack patience, kindness, or goodness. We can admit we have too little faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But it’s not enough. We can’t produce fruit by working harder or doing more good things. But while time still remains, today is the day to dig in and fertilize our lives with the nourishment of God’s truth. This is the day to soak up his promises and let them feed the very root of our lives. That’s when fruit will come, by changing our life so it stays connected to God, the very creator of life. And THAT is enough.

 

Jesus encounters the fig tree

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Have you ever said, “I just wish I knew what God wanted from me!” We say we want a clear roadmap. And yet I wonder how we would respond if we actually saw our whole path, including the pain and sorrows. Would the Palm Sunday crowd even show up if they knew what the rest of the week would bring?

It isn’t just the path that is important. Immeasurably more important is our character on the path, the fruit of the Spirit found in us. “What does God want from me?” Fruit!

In John 15, we are given the parable of the vine and branches. Jesus is the vine; we are the branches. Branches only bear fruit when they remain in the vine.

So the day after the big procession with the palm branches, Jesus sees a fig tree and went to inspect its fruit. Seeing none, he curses the tree as an illustration for his disciples. You see, true followers of Jesus are expected to bear fruit by staying connected to him, the vine. As Charles Spurgeon put it in his sermon on the subject: “The first Adam came to the fig tree for leaves, but the Second Adam looks for figs. He searches our character through and through, to see whether there is any real faith, any true love, any living hope, any joy which is the fruit of the Spirit, any patience, any self-denial, any fervour in prayer, any walking with God, any indwelling of the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus alone has the right to expect to see fruit in us and fruit is the one thing he most desires in us. He is not impressed with empty church going, mindless prayers, countless devotional readings or good-deed doing. If these are separate from an abiding spirit they may be more leafage than fruit.
And if there is no fruit in our lives, we may well expect drastic measures to follow.

God is not looking for mere words or vows but our sincerity in trusting him, loving him, depending on him and on his Spirit to produce fruit in our lives in all seasons.

In the story that follows, Jesus is enraged at the desolation of the temple. Here we again see the desire of God’s desire for us to worship in pureness and in truth and with sincere heart. Let’s stay with Jesus through the journey. And if you’ve strayed from the path, one step brings you back.

Mark 11:12-14. – The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

Winter pruning

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It is too cold just now and of course I have no strength, but already my thoughts turn to late winter pruning. I will ask my doctor in a couple of months if I can return to yard work after a year of prohibition due to health concerns. The honey suckle is intoxicating with its delicious fragrance that wafts across the yard but it is voracious in its growth. If not pruned, it will quickly overshadow the garden and the pear tree in the NE part of the small orchard. The fruit trees and grape vines, similarly need pruning or they will not produce as much large and delicious fruit.

Jesus tells us of the value of pruning in John 15. In this parable he describes himself as the vine, his followers as those branches that remain attached to the vine and God as the gardener. Of course the branches only bear fruit if they remain attached to the vine and even these must be pruned in order to grow more branches and produce more fruit.

In the same way, we must stay attached to the vine, abiding in Christ, if we expect to bear much spiritual fruit. And also in a similar fashion, our lives must undergo a certain amount of pruning that we can produce the fruit we were placed here to produce.

When we prune the branches of our grape arbor, it looks pretty scrawny but it benefits in the long run when spring buds appear. We notice a significant change in our lives when we undergo personal pruning and the unproductive and unhelpful activities and thoughts of our lives are pruned away. But their absence makes way for a much more useful one. Just as grape vines and fruit trees are not meant just to produce more leaves, so our lives are meant for much more than an abundance of activities and possessions.

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us the fruit we are expected to produce are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Do you find any of these offensive? Of course not. Who wouldn’t want to bear more of this fruit in their lives? But how do we do this? By pruning away the excess in our lives and staying connected to the vine, throughout each day.

And the good part is that you don’t need a doctor’s permission nor wait til the end of winter. What needs to be pruned in your life? Negative thoughts and behaviors? Excessive habits and activities aren’t necessarily bad but you if find they distract your attention from your real purpose and diminish your love, your joy, your peace, it is time for pruning.

Let’s pursue love this year, and peace and all the rest. Lt’s pursue it with such diligence that pruning is welcomed to obtain what we most deeply desire and what is beneficial to those around us as well.

Happiness and Joy Walked Into a Cafe

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Happiness and Joy walked into a cafe. Happiness was excited because this was a favorite eating place she hadn’t been to for awhile. Joy was pleased to have this time with Happiness. Happiness was a bit perturbed when her favorite waitress was too busy to say stop and chat. In fact, the server seemed to be in a bad mood. Happiness frowned at her the whole time she took the order. Joy thanked the server for taking the order. Happiness made chit chat with Joy while they waited for their food, commenting rather loudly how rude the server was to her. “She didn’t even ask how I was or about my new sweater!” exclaimed Happiness. Joy listened attentively.

When the server returned with the order, Happiness said, “Well it is about time!” Joy said to the server, “We are going to ask a blessing on our food. Could we pray for you?” The server looked surprised at the offer and answered, “You would do that? I just found out my son has to have surgery. I’m so worried about him and about how we will pay for it!” Happiness felt a little sheepish for not asking the server about her family. Joy held the server’s outstretched hand and said a simple blessing. Turning to their food when the server left, Happiness said, “Can you believe this? The toast is burnt!” Joy said quietly, “I learned the secret of enjoying burnt toast awhile ago.” Joy snapped back, “Enjoy burnt toast? You gotta be kidding!” Proceeding to explain, Joy said, “I read an article about these people who didn’t have enough to eat. In fact, the whole family had less to eat than what I would typically have for a meal all to myself. So I made a promise that for thirty days I would give thanks for whatever I had to eat. The next morning I burnt my breakfast toast. I started to complain to myself but stopped and gave thanks for it, acknowledging that others in the world would be grateful for this morsel of burnt toast.” “How is that thirty day trial going for you?” asked Happiness. “Really well,” replied Joy. “It’s been about ten years now, and even though I don’t intentionally burn my toast it still brings a smile to my face when I do.”

Happiness enjoyed the rest of her meal, despite the burnt toast. When they got ready to leave she left a few coins for a tip. Joy quietly slipped a rather large tip under the plate with a short note of thanks on the receipt.
. . . .
In a world that eagerly seeks happiness, wouldn’t you rather have a little JOY in your life?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23