When the girls were younger, both Peyton and McKenna preferred to sit with me in “big” church. They were never really ones to want to go to the kid’s room where everyone their age hung out. They never ceased to amaze after the sermon when we would discuss the pastor’s message just how much they would know and understand what had been talked about.
One Sunday, Pastor Galen spoke of Jesus cursing the fig tree (Matthew 21:18-22). Jesus came up to the fig tree with his disciples and upon seeing that the tree was bare when it shouldn’t have been, He cursed the tree. It withered up at once. The disciples were shocked and from that moment, Jesus was able to speak to them on the power of faithful prayer.
Pastor Galen expressed additional thoughts on the correlation to us living out the fruit of the Spirit and what it means to produce fruit in our walk with God. It was rich with meaning and incredibly helpful to think about how empty our walk with God can be when we are bare and not producing fruit for the Kingdom.
On our way home, Peyton asked me if she could ask a question. “Mommy, am I a plain tree or a fruity tree?” At 6 years old, she was able to understand what the pastor meant in the difference between the two. It shaped a beautiful conversation that ended with Peyton reminding herself that as a Christian she should always want to be the fruity tree and talk to her friends about Jesus.
To have the faith of a child, right?!
We sometimes think that being fruitful in our Christian life is difficult. And don’t get me wrong. It’s hard to handle things like patience and long-suffering. It’s scary to talk to a random stranger about God and who He sent as a sacrifice on our behalf. It’s demanding to think that we must die to self daily. But isn’t that we’re meant to do?
In Colossians 1:10, Paul writes to the people and says he is constantly praying for them so that they will be filled with the knowledge of His will, “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
I believe that if we came to God with the faith of a child, innocently wanting to just be a fruity tree for Him rather than a plain one, we would recognize we can trust God to help us be that fruity tree. We aren’t meant to become fruit bearers by doing it on our own. With faithful study and meditation on God’s Word, we can know that we are meant to lean on Him as well as walk with Him as we flourish and produce the fruit.
That’s the beauty of having a relationship with Him! We don’t have to be scared because we aren’t doing it alone. We produce the fruit as a faithful child of the King!
How about you, dear friends? Tell me, do you long to be a fruity tree for the Kingdom of God?! Share with us in the comments below.
~Erin
Iron Porch 