Autumn doesn’t arrive all at once. There is no single morning when we all wake up and suddenly discover that summer has ended. Rather, the light changes, the mornings become cooler, the leaves begin to turn, and gradually we realise that a new season is upon us. Perhaps your transformation over the last couple of years as we focused on spiritual practices has been rather like this. At times, these practices may have felt significant and fruitful. Spring. Others may have seemed ordinary and repetitive. Winter. All have their place, and I hope that as you’ve responded to the invitation to practice the ways of Jesus, you are experiencing some of what John writes:
‘I (Jesus) am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.’ – John 15:5
Jesus doesn’t stop there, though: ‘I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.’ – John 15:11-12. These practices are not simply ways to become healthier, more disciplined or more spiritually mature individuals. All good things, but they are meant for much more than this. They are ways of becoming people through whom the life and love of Jesus can overflow into our families, friendships, church community, neighbourhoods and even the world. They are absolutely for our joy and benefit, but your transformation can change far more than just you! Like the leaves turning are a sign that the seasons are changing, something new is coming. Our transformation is a foretaste of God’s kingdom here and now.
A tree does not bear fruit for its own benefit. Fruit provides nourishment for others, produces seeds for future growth and contributes to the life of the wider ecosystem. In the same way, the fruit of our spiritual transformation is not intended to end with us. We might begin practising silence because we are overwhelmed, sabbath because we are exhausted or prayer because we long for closeness to God, but eventually these practices begin to change the way we engage with the world around us. The person practising generosity begins to notice needs they previously overlooked. The person learning forgiveness chooses reconciliation rather than resentment. The person practising hospitality helps create a community where outsiders can belong. The fruit of our lives allows people the opportunity to ‘taste and see that the Lord is good.’ Psalms 34:8a.
Likewise, as a whole body, we benefit. ‘He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.’ Ephesians 4:16. When we practice individual disciplines, we strengthen ourselves and give healthy foundations to support the continued growth of our vines so that we can bear fruit. When we use this fruit to bless our church family by loving each other like Christ, sharing and contributing to our times together, and encouraging one another, we create a shared culture of discipleship. The beauty of this is that it doesn’t require everyone to have made equal progress, or to have mastered every practice. It invites the whole church to consider what God might be growing in them to strengthen and support those around them. As we enjoy the fruit of our lives together, like harvest bounty, and those around us come to ‘taste and see’ the goodness of God, we begin to share in God’s kingdom here on earth. The overlapping of heaven and earth. The church is not the kingdom in its fullness (yet), and our practices on their own cannot repair all the hurting and brokenness in our world. But as a community formed by Jesus, we can become a sign, the fruit out of season, of the life God intends for the world. A demonstration that we can choose reconciliation in a divided world, hospitality in a lonely society, and generosity in a consumerist culture. We practise the way of Jesus not simply to change ourselves, but to become the kind of people who can change the lives of those around us. What might change in our communities as the church practises the way of Jesus and becomes more like Him?
