This last weekend, my family went to Ray French Orchards to enjoy a little Fall apple picking. Gathering fruit is one of those events that, if contemplated long enough, is unbelievably complex.
It starts with apple trees that are uniquely designed to produce fruit. Through nutrient absorption from the soil and photosynthesis, a delicious seed distribution mechanism appears. This alone is a marvelous wonder of complex processes. This comes from a genetic code enacted by the Creator (Genesis 1:12). From one seed, a single tree can produce over thirty apples every year. Over a lifetime, it can produce fruit for over 50 years- the longest documented apple-bearing tree in the US was 194 years. The apple varieties we have today have all been selectively cultivated to produce a wealth of colors, sizes, and flavors. There are over 7500 varieties, and horticulturalists are expanding on those numbers. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to grabbing an apple off the limb.
It brings to mind the partnership that God has presented to humanity. God has always desired us to work in His creation this way. He informs the first human to cultivate and care for the earth (Genesis 2:15). God wants to partner with us. We should use our abilities to make a change around us (2 Corinthians 6:1), our primary purpose being ambassadors for God. It should come as no surprise that just as a tree is designed to produce an apple, so are we created by God for a particular fruit.
When the cousin of Jesus, John, begins to preach in the wilderness, he informs those coming to him to bear fruit of repentance. “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8). We often presume repentance as following an adverse action, which means a change in our minds. John wants to prepare the way for Jesus by having his audience be ready to adjust their lives so that they may bear fruit for Jesus.
Now, we would not have to do this for a fruit tree. It has been designed to produce fruit, and given the right environment, it will do that. Humans are different, we have the capability of suppressing this part of our intended design. We can refuse the thing that we were made to do. We were made to partner with God, but we often suppress it for our own desires. When the forerunner John spoke of how we partner, he put it in these terms:
Luke 3:11-14 “And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
This is what it looks like to bear the fruit God wants us to produce. It is to consider the needs of others before yourself. Partnering with God means putting yourself into a secondary position concerning material goods and selfishness. This does take a mental reset; it requires repentance, but there will be good fruit when we complete this process. It will restore us back to the factory default, and we can enjoy our heavenly partnership.
On Saturday, I was fascinated, not by the small apples I held in my hand, but by the joy my children had spotting the fruit that was ripe enough to be plucked from the tree. You see when the fruit is on the tree, there is a healthy tree, but more importantly, when the tree is healthy, it means more to the people who are picking the Fruit.