Coyans in the Czech Republic

invitation to a changed life

bearing fruit

Then Jesus told them a story: "A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren't any. He said to his gardener, 'What's going on here? For three years now I've come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?' "The gardener said, 'Let's give it another year. I'll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn't, then chop it down.'" Luke 13:6-9

I love this story because in it there is a message of hope. We can be old worn-out apple trees with no fruit to speak of, but in the capable hands of the gardener new life can be breathed into us. Alas, worn-out people with nothing much to show for their lives, wandering, purposeless, lonely, bitter, empty, in the capable hands of the Gardener new life is breathed in and exhaled with gratitude.

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Galatians 5:22-23