Spiritual Stretch Marks

I've reached that moment in pregnancy where I have stretch marks. Some women never get them (jealous) but I am not one of those lucky women. Men, you may not understand, though rumor has it my dad got them when bulking up in college, so maybe you can relate. Stretch marks. Proof of growth. Humans typically love to document growth (until it goes out instead of up). As kids, my brother and I had a spot at our grandparents where, every time we visited, we would mark how much we had grown. We measure professional growth by pay raises and promotions and academic growth by diplomas and degrees. In America we like to know that we're growing. I'm not a huge fan of these stretch marks but I can't feel the baby kick yet, so it offers a nice reminder that I am growing and there is something happening. We love to see proof of growth, but this is difficult in the spiritual realm because it isn't visible. Or is it?
When the Bible speaks of growth it often uses an analogy of the time that makes sense to an agricultural people and speaks of the growth of trees. Trees are considered strong when they are rooted firmly and established and when they bear fruit. In John, Jesus says, "I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful" (John15:1-2). He paints this beautiful picture of himself as a tree. Break out your imagination and try to picture this: Jesus is a tree and we are his branches. God, the Father is rocking overalls, and a straw hat with dirt on his hands, and in those grubby hands, he holds garden shears. As branches, we have life and growth because of Jesus, the tree (or vine, but for me a tree is easier). Some branches, however, are not growing so they get cut off. Papa Gardner doesn't really like dead branches. But those that grow are pruned so they grow even more. Then comes the big one: we learn that if we are growing and alive, we will be bearing fruit.
So what does this fruit look like? Well maybe you've heard of the fruit of the spirit. I think this is the best place to start. But first, let me emphasize of the Spirit. When Jesus was compared to a tree in Isaiah, it it listed the fruit he would bear because the Spirit of the Lord rested on him (Isaiah 11). Know that we cannot bear fruit if we do not have God. Jesus went on in John 15 to say, "I am the vine and you are the branches, if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (vs. 5). So first, we must know him and remain in him, then we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and be able to bear fruit. This cannot come from our own efforts. Growing your own spiritual fruit is about as easy as holding out your hand and making an apple come out of it. When we try to do it ourselves, we become exhausted and ineffective; it can only be done when we are fully connected to the source of life.
Now, for the fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 defines the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. Read those again. Does you every action speak of this fruit? Yikes. Mine doesn't. See what I mean about we can't do it ourselves? We have to call on Jesus and it must be his work within us. By the way, this isn't just a one-time deal. You must call on him daily, hourly, by the minute. He is your tree, your source of life, your oxygen. Try holding your breath for a full day, it obviously doesn't work. Nor does it work when we are cut off from Jesus, our true source of life.
So remain in him and bear some fruit. And once you begin to bear this fruit, you will bear fruit in the way of leading others to him. When you begin to exhibit these traits in your workplace, people will wonder what is wrong with you. Can you imagine a person who constantly exhibits love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control? People would lose their minds!
So let's bear some fruit. The world is hungry for a taste! Don't be the branch your Gardening Father wants to cut off, but be the one he prunes so it becomes more and more fruitful throughout this lifetime. Do you have any spiritual stretch marks? I hope so because we all need to be growing. Thankfully, no plant can grow without water, sun and air, just as we cannot grow without our true source of life and nourishment. So remain in him, show some stretch marks and give the world a banana!