Add it up!

In the garden at my parent's home, visible from the sofa through the window is a plum tree.  It's been there as long as I can remember and a lot longer than that.  I don't think I've ever paid much attention to it, but having lived away and missed some of the UK's beautiful spring flowers and plants, I seem to have been more aware this year of the life in the gardens.

Some weeks ago, I looked out and saw just a few blossoms on the tree.  It wasn't long before the tree was smothered with the white blooms. Not much after that, the blossom disappeared and green leaves cover the tree now.  It won't be long until the begins of fruit will show too.

During this time, this tree which is about 80 years old, doesn't do much.  It doesn't toil and labour.  It just stands strong, no matter what the weather is doing and in due season it blossoms and the cycle continues, year after year.

A tree just is what it is created to be.  It sends its roots down deep, drinks in water and nutrients, grows and bears fruit. That's it's nature and purpose.

Sometimes the trouble is, we don't know what we are created to be!  God created mankind for one thing; to be in relationship with him.  Everything else in our lives is supposed to stem from within that relationship.  Jesus died for us, so there's nothing for us to do to make ourselves right with God, We just get to BE in relationship.

Just like when a man and women enjoy an intimate relationship with each other, the fruit of that is children, so when we enjoy an intimate relationship with Jesus, our lives will produce fruit.  Sending our roots down deep and drawing from the Word and the Spirit what we need to grow, the blossom and fruit will come without striving or effort.

People are just not really good at trusting that when God tells us the Too-Good-To-Be-True News (the Gospel), that it is for real.  We seem to spend our lives working at all the wrong things and investing all our time and energy in all the wrong directions, whether it's trying to establish our own righteousness, trying to get God to move on our behalf, getting 'more' people to pray so we can twist God's arm , or working to 'please' him so he loves us more.   When we realize that we were are made to enjoy this relationship with God, we can stop trying to force things to happen and, just like my parent's tree, we can be what we were created to be and in 'being', we will produce fruit without strife or labour, and all the STUFF will be added to us!