Oak Trees and Banquet Tables
We started with this paragraph in our last blog on abiding:
“All things we experience on earth; the trials and suffering, the beautiful images of ocean sunsets and mountain top views, betrayed relationships and relationships that give us life, the grief of tragic death and the unbridled joy of unexpected life – all of these and more in some mysterious way contribute to my desire and capacity to abide well. And abiding well means that I will be being, moment by moment, increasingly conformed to the image of God’s Son Jesus.”
Here at Backyard Conversations, we have been chatting for the last couple months about Abiding – The last best hope of the believer's path to power, peace and purpose!
The last time we were together we spoke of positional and progressive abiding. That is a bit of a mouthful. Today we're going to ratchet it back a bit and grab a couple of word pictures to help us apply abiding to our everyday life. In hopes of less thinking about abiding and more applying the idea of abiding. The first word picture reminds us that to abide is to yield. Like a tree along a river.
Scripture uses all kinds of garden and harvest themes to communicate the kingdom idea of abiding and we can take a lesson from them in our spiritual lives. Chapter 13 of Matthew alone has several examples. It starts with the very important kingdom parable of the soils (verses 1-23), then He follows that teaching with the parable of the wheat and weeds (verses 24-30) and then in that same chapter we hear Jesus teach us of the parable of the mustard seed, (verses 31-35).
Today, let’s focus on one aspect of this garden theme as illustrated in the Tree of Life. This is our two-fold goal: that someday we would eat of the tree of life in the New Jerusalem, and that we would live lives here on earth, before we get to that heavenly place, where we, like strong trees, produce good fruit that remains (the same word as abides)!
We read about this tree in Revelation:
Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
This water would be fresh and cold and clear and full of life itself. It would flow through the center of the city. And this Tree of Life would be so large as to somehow grow on both sides of the river. This means that everyone can always get to it. Unbridled access to the life-giving fruit that first stood in the Garden of Eden.
And, to personalize this word picture, by being rooted deep in Christ, we too can produce good fruit, fruit of life, for today. A fruit that sustains not only us but those who experience our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We share our life giving fruit with others when we abide, deeply rooted in Christ.
The Psalmist reminds us in the very first Psalm:
Psalm 1:3
(The wise person) is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither.
In all that they do, they prospers.
Or this idea from the prophet Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 17:7-8
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
When we abide well, fruit simply happens!
Abiding implies simply lingering in conversation, like at a banquet table.
Too often we fill the Christian journey with all kinds of “to do” lists. Jesus would rather have us linger with him in conversation and worship, resulting eventually in increased obedience. Not out of duty, but out of love!
This is a good place to rest today, in some delightful backyard conversations with Jesus!
