roots

There's a question I ask myself a lot: where's the fruit? What can I point to that I did today that I can rightfully say is the fruit of living faithfully?

Some days there's a lot I can point to. There are acts of service, acts of faith, acts of love. Some days are characterized by a vibrant prayer dialogue with God. Sometimes I'm moved to generosity.

But sometimes I can't come up with anything. I wonder why it is that sometimes my life is like the olive tree that Jesus refers to, the one that will be cut down and burned because without fruit it's useless.

And, to be completely honest, there are periods of my life when I stop asking the question. This has been one of those times, until this morning. This morning I read Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

I was immediately reminded of my old question, in a way that simultaneously convicted me and gave me hope. I was convicted because, in contrast to the image of a tree that never fails to bear fruit, I sometimes do fail. But I get hope from the direct connection to the obvious reason - the solution is explained so clearly not even I could miss it.

To bear fruit, I need to trust in the Lord, to put my confidence in him. That's the never-failing source of fruit-bearing. If my roots are sunk deeply in the fertile soil of God's love and providence, the fruit will be there.

It's an interesting image. We planted new trees in our yard a few weeks ago, and have had the daily chore of making sure they get enough water. We have to do that because they have a very un-developed root structure. Someday, after we've nursed them through a few seasons, their roots will go deep and we won't have to take so much care that they don't dry out.

My faith is far beyond the baby stage, but it's not so well developed that I don't need some extra watering once in a while. But I know that in this I want what God wants, that I have a rock-solid faith and the fruit to go with it.