A is for Apple
The French moralist Joseph Joubert said "To teach is to learn twice". I had this exact experience lately when teaching my son's Sunday School class at church. The lesson was on the book of Galatians and touched on the passage from Galatians 5:22-23 regarding spiritual fruit:
After introducing the verse, the kids' lesson began talking about real fruit trees. The lesson stressed to the kids that an apple tree doesn't try to produce bananas. Instead an apple tree is just an apple tree - it lets God produce the fruit it is meant to produce. I realized that I have been an apple tree trying on my own to produce bananas, and that, my friends, was never going to work.
An apple tree begins its journey as a rootstock, and the type of rootstock determines many characteristics of the tree such as how tall it will eventually grow and the type of weather it best tolerates. The first year of its life is also dormant; the tree will not even produce leaves yet, but it is still going through a very important part of growth.
As the tree enters it second year, it starts to get its top growth. Its branches are starting to grow, but it is still dormant and still does not yet have leaves. A tree being grown in a nursery will be pre-pruned around this time. It seems strange that a tree that doesn't even have leaves would need to be pruned, but this process brings the roots and top growth back into balance and gives the tree its best chance for survival when it is transplanted to its final destination. Once the tree becomes established, it will finally break dormancy later in its second year and will produce its first leafy growth.
During years three and four the tree will grow many branches and leaves, and its trunk will start to get larger. In the spring it may even bloom and start to produce its first fruit! Pruning during its dormant season at this point is an important part of caring for the tree which helps it to produce fruit during the growing seasons.
It isn't until year five or six, that the tree finally becomes an established apple tree with a regularly developed rhythm for growing, producing and resting, and if the tree creates a rhythm that includes overbearing, it could cause the tree to only produce fruit every other year. Thus it is important for the caretaker to thin the tree of newly developing fruit during the growing season. In addition to preventing overbearing, thinning the tree also improves the quality of the tree's fruit, helps to prevent damage to the tree from the limbs becoming too heavy with fruit, and stimulates the crop for the next year.
I don't know about anyone else, but I can identify with that apple tree. God created my rootstock and designed me to grow best in a certain environment and in a certain way, though at times I have dared to think I would grow better elsewhere or wished I was an orange tree.
He has lovingly pruned my branches to create balance in my life, though sometimes I have wasted tears over the branches which have been pruned away rather than enjoying the perfect balance their absence brings.
When I trust Him to do so, He thins the fruit on my tree to bring balance to my growing seasons, to keep me from damaging myself and to stimulate later growth in me, but sometimes I hold on tightly to the fruit I have instead of letting Him thin me, thinking that I might need that fruit later only for the fruit to wither and die with none to come in and take its place.
I need to stop trying to grow bananas and oranges on the branches of my apple tree. I need to stop trying so hard to force my fruit to grow. Instead I need to trust in the wisdom and plan of the Gardener and His pruning and thinning and fertilizer. If I will just stop trying so hard and let the Gardener do the work, I will grow in the way I'm meant to grow.
" 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."
While reading those verses with the kids, I had a moment of conviction. How have I truly been doing lately with producing the fruit of the spirit? Immediately some moments came to mind when instead of producing this fruit, I had instead given growth to weeds of discord, jealousy, selfish ambition and envy. Realizing this I had a moment of berating myself for not "doing better" and producing more fruit, but thankfully due to God's grace the lesson didn't stop there.
After introducing the verse, the kids' lesson began talking about real fruit trees. The lesson stressed to the kids that an apple tree doesn't try to produce bananas. Instead an apple tree is just an apple tree - it lets God produce the fruit it is meant to produce. I realized that I have been an apple tree trying on my own to produce bananas, and that, my friends, was never going to work.
An apple tree begins its journey as a rootstock, and the type of rootstock determines many characteristics of the tree such as how tall it will eventually grow and the type of weather it best tolerates. The first year of its life is also dormant; the tree will not even produce leaves yet, but it is still going through a very important part of growth.As the tree enters it second year, it starts to get its top growth. Its branches are starting to grow, but it is still dormant and still does not yet have leaves. A tree being grown in a nursery will be pre-pruned around this time. It seems strange that a tree that doesn't even have leaves would need to be pruned, but this process brings the roots and top growth back into balance and gives the tree its best chance for survival when it is transplanted to its final destination. Once the tree becomes established, it will finally break dormancy later in its second year and will produce its first leafy growth.
During years three and four the tree will grow many branches and leaves, and its trunk will start to get larger. In the spring it may even bloom and start to produce its first fruit! Pruning during its dormant season at this point is an important part of caring for the tree which helps it to produce fruit during the growing seasons.
It isn't until year five or six, that the tree finally becomes an established apple tree with a regularly developed rhythm for growing, producing and resting, and if the tree creates a rhythm that includes overbearing, it could cause the tree to only produce fruit every other year. Thus it is important for the caretaker to thin the tree of newly developing fruit during the growing season. In addition to preventing overbearing, thinning the tree also improves the quality of the tree's fruit, helps to prevent damage to the tree from the limbs becoming too heavy with fruit, and stimulates the crop for the next year.
I don't know about anyone else, but I can identify with that apple tree. God created my rootstock and designed me to grow best in a certain environment and in a certain way, though at times I have dared to think I would grow better elsewhere or wished I was an orange tree.
He has lovingly pruned my branches to create balance in my life, though sometimes I have wasted tears over the branches which have been pruned away rather than enjoying the perfect balance their absence brings.
When I trust Him to do so, He thins the fruit on my tree to bring balance to my growing seasons, to keep me from damaging myself and to stimulate later growth in me, but sometimes I hold on tightly to the fruit I have instead of letting Him thin me, thinking that I might need that fruit later only for the fruit to wither and die with none to come in and take its place.
I need to stop trying to grow bananas and oranges on the branches of my apple tree. I need to stop trying so hard to force my fruit to grow. Instead I need to trust in the wisdom and plan of the Gardener and His pruning and thinning and fertilizer. If I will just stop trying so hard and let the Gardener do the work, I will grow in the way I'm meant to grow.
"It is remarkable how closely the history of the apple tree is connected with that of man."
Henry David Thoreau
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