A few weeks ago we took part in planting an orchard - a much-anticipated event! Before digging out the holes, someone used an auger to churn up the soil (MUCH appreciated when digging in a rocky hillside). Then, we dug a whole lot of 3-foot-diameter, 1.5-foot-deep holes to prepare for the day the trees arrived. A couple days passed and the big occasion arrived! The trees didn’t look like much; in fact, they resembled sticks with roots more than trees.
We ended up filling in part of the holes since the trees’ roots needed more support, but in the end, we planted 36 fruit trees, including apples, peaches, plums, cherries, and even an apricot! This pleased my California-girl heart to no end, since I dearly miss all the fresh fruit I normally enjoy during California’s long growing season (especially the citrus). I’m so pleased that future residents of this property can enjoy fresh fruit, provided the Lord allows these trees to come to maturity and bear fruit.
If we hope to harvest fruit from these trees, we need to make sure we care for them well! They need lots of water as they establish roots and begin to mature. Thankfully, we get quite a bit of rain here, so they don’t need constant hand-watering like they might if we planted them in California. As they begin to grow and bear fruit, the trees will eventually need pruning. We will need to strategically cut branches back to encourage the tree to bear fruit.
God uses the image of bearing fruit all over Scripture! Jesus uses the metaphor so beautifully in John 15:
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. John 15:1-4
God expects His people to bear fruit, just like we look forward to the day we harvest fruit from the trees we planted. Of course, God doesn’t harvest peaches and apricots from His people. Rather, He expects a harvest of lives lived in accordance with Who He is and what He’s done. Let us pray that God would work in our hearts and lives to bear fruit for His glory, as He promises to do.
Rooted in Him,
Kate