If you were a tree...

My grandmother was a gardener. She wasn’t really a farmer, but she liked to garden. For years, she had a great, bountiful garden on her rich Kansas soil. She grew enormous cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, green onions and potatoes. She knew how to care for her plants and was blessed with good soil and lots of patience.

I’ve never had much luck as a gardener. We had a decent strawberry patch in Michigan, but after a couple good years, the berries lost their sweetness. Our tomatoes we always small and bland. We grew a few good peppers, but they were too spicy to eat.

We all produce fruit in our lives. We all make things and affect change and build relationships. We touch other lives. Some people grow good, delicious fruit; they love people and make a positive difference in the world. Others grow sour, mealy fruit, fruit you would rather throw out than eat.

So, here’s the question this raises in my mind: if I were a tree, would you eat my fruit? Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

God’s Spirit lives inside all followers of Jesus, and one thing the Spirit does is to help us grow good fruit. Instead of producing the selfish, rude, angry, jealous fruit we used to grow, the Spirit inspires us to grow love, joy, peace, patience, and the other good fruit that God desires. To grow this good fruit, we have to let the Spirit in, we have to let God do His gardening. He may have to prune back some bad branches. He may have to till the soil of our hearts. The gardening my be painful and difficult, but if we let the Spirit work in us, He will produce a good, abundant harvest.

If you were a tree, would people eat your fruit?

Old, Slow Ways of Life

My family visited Old Sturbridge Village on Memorial Day. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we had a fun time learning about 18th and 19th century life. We visited the grist mill and saw corn being ground into meal. We also learned that's where the phrase "milling about" originated. Farmers would gather at the mill with their corn, and as they waited their turn with the miller, they would talk with each other and "mill about."

We also went into the Meetinghouse, the colonial version of a congregational church. Our New England ancestors would spend two hours each Sunday morning and two hours each Sunday afternoon in the Meetinghouse. They would sing hymns, pray, listen to sermons and fellowship with one another. It was a time when Sundays were set aside for worship and family - not a bad cultural habit.

The Meetinghouse was filled with boxed pews, each with a little gate. Parishioners who wanted a reserved seat each Sunday could purchase a pew box. Interestingly, the more expensive pews were at the front! The idea of selling reserved seating to church is clearly objectionable to our modern view of Biblical standards, but to them it was a way of showing commitment to God and to the community.

What was most interesting about the pew boxes is that each family decorated their box as they wanted and could afford. Some had carpeting or a padded seat. Some had arm rests and foot stools. There's something compelling about this practice, that they planned to be at church every Sunday for several hours and made an effort to make their time in church comfortable and enjoyable instead of looking for ways to get in and get out as quickly as possible.

The biggest impression Old Sturbridge Village left with me was the joy and simplicity of a slow paced life. We watched a potter take several minutes to form a simple drinking cup. The blacksmith skillfully heated, pounded and moulded a single iron nail. A man sheared a sheep for over half an hour -- a task made longer when the sheep wrestled free and ran back to its pin! People worked hard but they didn't rush. We could learn from people who milled about with each other and decorated their church pews and carefully did their work to the glory of God.

Life Still Matters

One thing you can say for sure: President Obama is not afraid of addressing controversial issues. In his first five months in office, he has taken on socialism, torture, global warming, Middle East peace, and now abortion. His commencement speech at Notre Dame Sunday afternoon was his latest bold declaration that intelligence and eloquence can solve our world's problems.

He advocated for "fair-minded" debate and encouraged everyone to keep their hearts open to the opposing side. These are nice sentiments nicely articulated, but they miss the point of the abortion debate. The fundamental issue is when we believe human life begins, at conception or sometime after. Once that question finds resolution in someone's mind, the "fair-minded" debate gets very short. If, as many people believe, life begins at conception, abortion is murder.

Scripture makes it clear that God is the author of all human life and that life as well as human identity and purpose begin at conception. David understood that he was sinful not only from birth but even from "the time my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5 NIV) and that he, like all of us, was "woven together" by God who saw his "unformed body" in the womb (Psalm 139:15-16 NIV). Jesus' life, calling and ministry were ordained before He was formed in Mary's womb, and His presence was at very least spiritually palpable during the first trimester when Mary visited her relative Elizabeth (Luke 1:26-45).

It's fine to debate issues with an open mind and fair words, but let's rise above the debate, as President Obama might say, and pray that our Supreme Court and elected leaders will join the majority of Americans who oppose legalized abortion and finally end this shameful practice.

Sitting with Jesus

There is a wonderful little story in Luke 10:38-42 about Jesus visiting the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha tends to every need, cleaning, cooking and greeting guests. She is “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” Mary made a different choice. She “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.” This story is just a few words, but it gives us much to think about.

There are many Marthas in the world. People like Martha are driven by responsibility; they can’t sit still if things there’s a job to be done. I am often like Martha. I like things neat and orderly. I can’t relax at home until the dishes are done and the kid’s toys put away.

There’s nothing wrong with being responsible and working hard, but that’s not the point of the story. See, Martha and Mary had to make a choice. Would they clean the house, make the dinner, tend to all the various household needs or would they sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His wisdom. Mary made the better choice. She chose to cherish those few wonderful moments with Jesus.

So, here’s the challenge for each of us. Don’t get too busy, too distracted by the cares and needs of life that you don’t also take time to sit with Jesus. We need quiet moments to read His word, pray and worship. We need to make space to simply sit in His wonderful presence and feel His love.