Spiritual Raspberries

Every summer my mom and I go to a friend’s house and pick raspberries to make freezer jam. He has a huge row of bushes that is probably 100 feet long and 6 feet wide. We don’t even get half way down before we have picked enough berries, which is good because it is usually very hot and we are often accompanied by bees, not to mention small children. This year as we picked we noticed some very striking parallels between raspberries and our spiritual lives. (Have I mentioned how much I love analogies?)  Well, here are a few of the morsels we gleaned that day…

Maturity

One of the first things we noticed was that the older vines had larger berries which ripened earlier than those on the newer vines. This is most likely because the older vines are more mature, they have mostly finished growing the vines themselves so they can put more into the berries.

If one observes a church, anywhere, one will notice that those who are more mature spiritually produce fruit faster. They develop traits of godliness and lose sinful habits much quicker than those who are younger in the faith. They are usually among the older generations of a church but not always. I have known some 20 year olds who are far more spiritually mature than some 60 year olds regardless of how old either was when they gave their life to Christ.

Hebrews 5:13-14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

When we are first saved, we can only handle so much truth and doctrine, no matter how we long for it. But the longer we study, the more we grow and the more we learn and can handle deeper teaching. Some do not seek to learn or to gain godliness and so grow very slowly and can only handle the basic teachings even after years of faith. They also do not produce spiritual fruit as readily or abundantly as those who grow steadily. As with raspberries, the more mature the vine (or believer), the riper and larger the fruit. Growth builds upon itself.

Fruit

That is not to say that we can judge another’s maturity by the fruit we see. There are often berries hidden among leaves that one could look at a hundred times and only see the last. Just because the fruit is hidden doesn’t mean it isn’t there or that the vine is unfruitful.

It is just so with believers. Much of the fruit and growth that happens in a believer’s life is invisible to all but the closest. We cannot see the minute growth of the heart, or often the fruit which they produce.

Matthew 6:3-7, 17-18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you…But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Not only is most of our fruit and growth not visible, but it shouldn’t be visible. Our growth and fruit are for God, not necessarily for others, at least not for their judgment. We cannot see what God is doing in a person’s heart, so we also should not judge them by what we do or do not see. What would be little growth or fruit for us may be a milestone for them. We need to let God be the judge and focuson our own growth and fruit, not for the praise of others but to glorify God.

Basic Needs

Plants have four basic needs which are similar to our basic spiritual needs. And those are things that we all need as well, so we are no different in our dependence than any other person. We all start at the same place and our growth is because of God’s grace.

1. First, all plants need light. The sun gives off not only warmth for the growing season, but also the food that they need to survive. We also need light to survive, God’s light. But the light of God is God Himself. We need Him to maintain a spiritual life. He is our life and the power which sustains us. We need to seek Him and be in His Word continually. John 8:12 (NASB) Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”(emphasis added)
2. Second, all plants need water. It is just as necessary for life as light. We also need water, the living water of God which is the Holy Spirit. Without Him we would die of thirst. John 7:37-39 (NASB) Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive.
3. Third, all plants need pollination to produce fruit. This is not necessary for life, but it is necessary to be fruitful and productive. In the same way, we as believers need the help of other believers in order to be fruitful. We need their help through advice, comfort, teaching, correction and encouragement. Philemon 4-7 (NASB) I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
4. Fourth, in order to be productive and fruitful, plants need to be pruned. Without pruning, the fruit they produce will be sparse and small. But pruned vines produce good fruit. Unfortunately for believers, pruning is not only necessary, but it is also painful. Pruning comes through trials, suffering and discipline, none of which are enjoyable in themselves. But our lives, and the lives of those around us, improve greatly if we are open to the Lord’s pruning. John 15:2 (NASB) Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

Connection to the Vine

Which brings me to my last point; raspberry branches need to be connected to the main vine to survive and be fruitful. Through the vine, the branches receive nutrients and water from the roots and ground. It is necessary for life. Just so, believers need to be connected to Christ in order to have spiritual life.

John 15:4-6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 

The only way we can have life is through Christ, but that life is more than mere salvation and a one time acquaintance with Him. It must be a continually deepening relationship, abiding in Him. A branch that is not continually attached to the vine will die. We must continually seek a deeper relationship with Him. The beauty of that is that He helps us. The more we seek Him the more He gives us and the more we want to seek Him.

Fruit of the Vine

We also bear fruit according to the vine to which we are connected. A raspberry branch produces raspberries, peach trees produce peaches, blueberry bushes produce blueberries. They show what kind of plant they are by the fruit they produce. So we as Christians show to whom we are connected by the fruit we produce.

Matthew 7:16-18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

We show that we are of the Spirit of God by producing the fruit of the Spirit. But if we are producing the fruit of the world, of the flesh, we show that we are of the world and not of Christ. That is why it is so important to remain connected to Him continually, to be seeking Him and growing in His godliness. If we are not then we are being influenced by something other than Him (which would be Satan) and show ourselves to be children of Satan. That is not to say that Christians will never sin and if one does sin then they are not truly saved. But it should be one of our highest goals and ambition to not sin, to avoid sin as much as we can (and to avoid things that could lead us to sin) and to repent immediately when we do sin. Having a careless attitude about sin shows a lack of concern about the sacrifice of Christ to save us from sin. We need to bear the fruit of Christ.

Summary

In essence, we should be like a raspberry bush: we should seek to grow and mature in godliness so that we can bear better fruit more easily; we need to be careful that we do not judge others based on the fruit and growth we see but also not show off our own fruit for others to praise; we should realize we all have the same needs of God’s light, life-giving water, the pollination of others and His pruning. But most importantly, we need to abide in Him in order to live, to seek to bear His fruit and exhibit His nature and character. Seek a deep, fruitful relationship with God and grow in godliness.