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An Apple Tree Doesn't Eat Apples

Leadership

Over the years, I have had seasons where I was obsessed with gardening. Not flowers and ornamental plants, as I have been blessed with the divine power to kill those with just a touch of my hand, but vegetables-- cucumbers, tomatoes, jalapeños, beets, squash, snap peas, beans, etc. There is just something special about the process of caring for the garden and enjoying the food that comes from it. It is nutrition for the body and the soul.

What I have never been able to successfully grow, however, is fruit. Growing a fruit tree takes time. While most vegetables are pretty easy and take a few months to produce, a productive fruit tree is years in the making. It needs proper soil, proper pruning, lots of water, and time. It takes great patience and diligence to grow good fruit, not my strong suit.

Fruits of the earth and fruits of the Spirit are tough to produce and only happen when intentionally tended to, over time, through many of life’s seasons.  

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" (Galatians 5:22-23)

When I read these fruits of the Spirit that Paul lays out, I realize how much gardening I still have to do. I need to do a lot of pruning and strengthening those branches where the fruit just isn’t ripe. Sure, on the surface, I feel pretty good about a few, until I dig a little deeper and see what the words really mean. Love? I think I love well until I measure it against Jesus, who says that love is to lay one’s life down for one's friends. Hmmmm. Patience? Self-control? This is not a report card I want to take home to mother.  

The other thing about growing good fruit is that it is not for you. It is for the benefit of others. An apple tree doesn’t eat apples. It grows its fruit to satisfy and nourish others. That is our calling, develop good fruit over time and use it to help those around us. The sweeter its fruit, the more people it attracts.  

If you are like me and still struggling to grow ripe fruit worth sharing, cut yourself some slack. It is not done in one season. And certain fruits grow stronger in certain seasons, you just have to go through a few. It takes time, and lots of it.  

AND, when I read the above verse, it is the Holy Spirit's job. Our job is to invite Him into the garden and partner with Him to do the work. Just keep pruning, keep tending, cut out the bad apples, and move on. A tree is known by its fruit, and YOU are a good tree that may just need some time to tend to a few branches. We all do.   

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