One Trait at a Time: What My Peach Trees Taught Me About Growth
Wisdom Scripture
1 Corinthians 2:13 (NIV)
“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.”
Wisdom Quote
Wisdom in the Jewish conception comes from God and hence focuses on the capacity for moral discernment issuing in wise choices: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and there is good understanding to all who practice it. And piety toward God is the beginning of discernment, but the impious regard wisdom and instruction as worthless” (LXX Prov. 1:7).[1]
[1] Wahlen, C. “Wisdom, Greek.” Ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. 2008: 844. Print.
My Peach Trees and the Holy Spirit
Since the Spirit lives in you, pray to be filled with the Spirit so that you keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). Paul exhorts, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
Some Christians have confused “filling” with “indwelling” because the two words sound similar. However, indwelling is the permanent presence of the Spirit in your heart that happens at the moment of your conversion, while filling is an ongoing, moment-by-moment dependence on the Spirit. To be filled with the Spirit means to yield control to the Holy Spirit. It is to give God the “remote control” of your life. He says, “Be filled,” which means that God is the one doing the filling, but we do the inviting.
How often do you need to be refilled? If you are like me, every day is too infrequent. You will fail, so yield the driver’s seat of your life to the Holy Spirit. Daily! Hourly! Ask him to guide you, empower you, and control your feelings, thoughts, and actions.
Divine and Human Work Together: My Peach Trees
God calls you to develop what he calls the “fruit of the Spirit.” If these are fruit of the Spirit, it would seem that the Spirit produces the fruit, yet the final fruit is self-control. So, does the Spirit produce the fruit, or do you grow your character? It’s both.
A mature tree produces fruit. Fruit pictures productivity that communicates divine enablement. I have two peach trees in my backyard. I can water the peach trees, fertilize them, spray for bugs, and put a net over the trees to keep the birds away, but I cannot make peaches grow.
You should work hard to cultivate character, but it is ultimately God who produces fruit in your life. You cannot squeeze a vine and force it to spit out a tomato. Only the Spirit of God can transform you into Christlikeness, but he will not do so without your willing participation. Though the power comes from the Spirit, the responsibility for developing Jesus’s character is yours.
You are responsible for cultivating, fertilizing, and pulling out weeds. You cannot create life, but you can prepare the soil. God’s work inspires and enables your work. Once you determine to change, God changes you.
