The Peach Tree Lesson

In my back yard growing up, we had three fruit trees:  plum, apricot and peach.  The plum and apricot trees produced the sweetest, tastiest fruit of their kind.  The peach tree was almost always a disappointment.  It didn't produce nearly the volume or the quality of fruit as the other trees.  One year, however, the peach tree was absolutely loaded with fruit!  I remember talking with my mom about what a wonderful harvest of peaches we would have.  Before the fruit was ripe, I remember the shock of going outside and seeing our prize future harvest lying on the ground:  the tree had fallen over!  It was obvious what had happened as it lay wilted on the ground.  The trunk had been eaten out from the centre by termites or a type of borer insect.  The exceptionally large amount of fruit the tree produced that year caused it finally to give way.  That was the end of that tree and fresh homegrown peaches for us!

As a kid, I wasn't overly concerned about the "health" of our fruit trees.  I didn't understand how the health of the tree often dictates the quality and volume of fruit produced.  I just wanted to eat the fruit!  Sometimes in our spiritual walk with Christ we can become focused on the fruit.  We want to see obvious signs of God's power at work in our lives and churches.  We want to see instant transformation in the lives of people by the Holy Spirit, like buds on the tree turning into fuzzy green little peaches in a matter of days.  Who doesn't?  But God taught me a valuable lesson from thinking back upon that fallen tree.  What good is fruitfulness if the tree doesn't have the strength to bear it?  What good is green inedible fruit if it never becomes ripe for harvest?  In 1 Timothy 3:6, Paul warns Timothy not to place spiritual "novices" into roles of authority and leadership.  They can easily be lifted up with pride and great will be their fall.

I believe this principle follows in the body of Christ as well.  It takes time for the church to be strengthened by the growth and maturity of individual members to support the fruitful ministry of the local church.  I have seen churches that were so intent on making a difference in their community that fell apart because they had not been strengthened within. Church leaders can have a God-given plan and vision they feel compelled to initiate before the Body is ready and prepared to shoulder the load.  People might try gimmicks and programs which only produce unnatural growth in a church, like a body-builder who cycles steroids.  When a weight lifter or athlete hasn't been seeing the gains he wants from workouts alone, there may be a temptation to take steroids to boost muscle mass for quick results and recovery.  The problem is, those unnatural gains will have long-term negative side effects.  It is better for the church to be led by the Spirit in all things, letting down the nets only at Christ's Word, than to fish all night long trying to be fruitful through the efforts of the flesh.

Paul testified in 1 Corinthians 3:6:  "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase."  Paul and Apollos had God-given roles in which He greatly used them.  Yet Paul understood that God was the sole reason why their efforts were profitable.  God provided the good seed of His Word, the refreshing Living Water through the Holy Spirit, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ bore much fruit.  It was all God's doing, and it is marvelous in my eyes.  Whether we are in a stage of sending down the roots deep to strengthen and stabilise, pruning, rapid growth, or a season of bountiful fruitfulness, let us be content.  Let us take heed to ourselves, that we do not focus on our foliage and green fruit when we are being eaten away within.  Let us encourage and strengthen one another in the LORD, for great is His faithfulness.