Wouldn't it be fun to enjoy fruit from your tree the first year it is planted? When we landscaped our large backyard in the Bay Area, we planted four bare root fruit trees: a cherry, a golden delicious apple, an almond, and a freestone peach. We anticipated great rewards, but the first season our cherry tree produced only three cherries, two for the blue jays and one for us. The other trees produced no fruit at all.
The second year seemed to be magical. We harvested our first delicious apples, our first almonds, and eight more cherries. But we had to wait until the third year for the peaches. Then we got the most luscious fruit we'd ever seen or tasted.
A "real" gardener will tell you the trees need to spend their first couple of years establishing roots before bearing fruit. Some even advocate pulling off the fruit for the first two years.
New Christians are like baby fruit trees. Sometimes spiritual fruit appears soon after a person becomes a believer, but more often, really mature fruit comes after time studying with the Lord Jesus in His Word. Even the apostle Paul spent three years learning what God had called him to do before beginning his ministry. (Galatians 1:17-18)
Maturity takes time, nourishment, and mentoring: time to experience and process, nourishment from studying God's Word, and mentoring by a pastor, fellow sojourner, or friend.
Where are you on your spiritual journey? Are you a new Christian? Welcome! Or are you ready to mentor someone else?
Insightfully yours,
Paulita
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