My friend Chris Robertson told a story of being out in an orchard one night and hearing a strange sound. He was walking among the trees in the dark and he heard a laborious groaning before a small pop.
He kept listening and the same sound kept occurring again and again. It sounded like the torment of a heavily constipated man followed by the sound of a bubble bursting. He went on to tell how there before his very eyes, the trees were exerting all their energy and then -boom- popping out apples.
It was at this point in the story that Chris lost all credibility with the high schoolers he was talking to, but he got his point across: trees don’t work to produce fruit, it comes naturally. It also doesn’t happen overnight.
Jesus talked about this in John 15 when he said “abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” A lot of people find it easy to trust God with their salvation, but think that all their growth is on their own shoulders. All we are called to do is abide.
Lately I’ve been reading a book called The Secrets of a Happy Christian life by Hannah Whitall Smith. She says “Imagine a child possessed of the worry that he would not grow unless he made some personal effort to do so. Suppose he tried to use a combination of ropes and pulleys to stretch himself up to the desired height. He might, it is true, spend his days and years in a weary strain. There would be no changing the fact that ‘no man by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature.” His weary efforts would be only wasted, and might even actually hinder the long awaited end. Neither a child nor a lily is ever found doing such a vain and foolish thing as trying to grow.”
A keen understanding of this truth brings incredible freedom, whatever your stage in life. If you are ever discontent or worried or stressed about your growth, just remember that you can trust God. He has brought you this far, it wasn’t by your own efforts, and he is faithful to continue to actively seek your spiritual growth.
Let that sink in.
The weight is off. You can trust God. He is good and he sees your heart and that you want to please him. He sees that you don’t want to go stale, that you don’t want your love to grow cold. He knows your desires because he’s the one who planted them. You can trust him that from now till the day you die he will only be drawing you closer to himself. Adventure is out there.
