A Tree of Life (Jer 17:5-10)

Wisdom seems to be the theme given us for this season in the church. God is looking for fruit from us. A farmer produces fruit as crops, like barley and wheat, meat and wool. But God is looking for spiritual fruit from us. The fruit that He desires is of the Spirit of God in us rather than that of other spirits. God is looking for the sweet easily plucked fruit rather than sour and prickly fruits hard to consume such as love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5). This reading is helping us with a choice we must make of how we can achieve the best outcome for ourselves by using the parable of a suitably positioned planting of fruiting tree. Jesus similarly referred to himself in John 15:1-7 as the vine desirable to be grafted onto, a vine in origin from the rootstock of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The two locations mentioned in the reading relate to surviving testing times through the availability of water to nourish the roots of the fruit tree.

We have just come back from visiting with family and friends where two glaring fruiting problems have faced us. Wisdom was needed and the search for it I think revealed a distancing from the source in both cases, where things had become dry in the things of God. They say the key in real estate is location, location, location, i.e. buy the worst house on the best street and do it up rather than the best house on the worst street. The value of you property will rise quicker if the Mongrel Mob doesn’t live on your street.

I gathered a little wisdom a few mornings ago as I woke when I heard something like this, “I just want to bless you with [good things that will make you prosper] but you make it so hard for Me.” It is saying to us things are set in the heavens and the earth that if you chose the way of blessing you will be blessed because closeness to God produces good fruits that people want to delight in and enjoy so that life will go well. But if you chose to stay far away and live an existence without reliably good fruit in adversity then people will find your fruit difficult and delight wont be your lot – actually it will be cursed. God wants the best for His children and closeness is in the river of life emanating out of the source in heaven. Wisdom is a relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ by the presence in the Holy Spirit. The suggestion is that if you feel cursed and lack the delicious fruit of the blessing, then relocate.

Comments

Mumsey said…
What a refreshing word.
When it all boils down to our faith, what ever we hear or others are saying, if our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is not stable and foremost in our lives, we will not even see the blessings.
All can be taken away in a moment (we see this in Australia) but our faith can never be removed unless we let it.

Matthew 6:33 (New International Version, ©2010)

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
January 16, 2011 at 12:06 PM
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