The Weight of Fruit

Social media is a fantastic place. There are many opportunities to see things you may never typically see. Take, for example, this photo (If this is your photo, please let us know so we can give you credit)

This is a fruit tree. If I remember correctly, it's an apple tree. It was heavy with blossoms and ready to produce fruit. The trouble came when the tree came up against a storm. The result? The tree was uprooted. A wide but shallow root system couldn't support the weight of the fruit when the storm came.

When I saw this photo on social media several years ago, I had the thought;

"How many of us are concerned with producing fruit but are not ensuring we are deeply rooted before we do?"

If you think using the words "fruit" and "rooted" is odd, let me explain. The Bible is full of agricultural references, gardens, trees, weeds, fruit, sowing, reaping, harvesting, vines, pruning, being ingrafted, etc. One of the standards the Bible holds Christ's followers to is producing much fruit.

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“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5 NLT

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" Galatians 5:22-23

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As Christ followers, we believe that the knowledge of Christ as a savior is to be shared or "planted." The sowing of that knowledge produces fruit, a harvest of life that you cannot find elsewhere. However, producing fruit is something that requires strong roots. Without a solid foundation, the weight of what you are trying to produce can topple you over. Being uprooted leaves you, like the tree in the photo, on the ground, trying to survive while barely connected to your source of stability.

How do we get and remain deeply rooted as we walk our life path? We start by ensuring we're living our lives in order. It is difficult to accomplish or produce anything when we're living out of order. Living out of order means we're trying to organize the current chaos, and that, friends, will only make you tired and resentful.

Us? We root ourselves in Christ. He alone is strong enough to hold us up when the storms (so many storms) of life hit and try to uproot us. Jesus holds on like you wouldn't believe and ensures that we don't end up on the ground, barely surviving. Thank goodness.

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'And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. ' Colossians 2:6-7

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At the end of the day, we all want to spend our lives doing the very thing we were created to do. The world we live in will always try to tell you what you should be rooted in. Things like relationships, sex, drugs, alcohol, pornography, others' opinions of you, money, and the list goes on and on. In reality, all of those things cause you to have shallow roots, and when the storm comes (and it's life, so it is 100% guaranteed to happen), you find yourself face down in the mud.

Take the time to examine how you are rooted. Do you need to have deeper roots to prevent toppling over in the next storm? Are you rooted in something that, in the end, only leads to a false sense of security? It's better to examine yourself now and deal with it than to find out in the middle of the storm!

You may be reading this, and you're thinking, I don't understand how this Jesus can help me. I'm already on the ground, and I can barely hold on. It's OK. He sees you, and all he is waiting for is to hear you say you're ready for him to be where you're planted.

As always, friends, be well-fed (and deeply rooted). Until next time.

John & Stephanie