It’s hard to believe, but we are coming up on the one year anniversary of my epic 10 day, 104 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah National Park. Before this, I don’t think I’d ever walked more than a few miles, and very rarely up and down mountains. And I’d never taken a single step with a 40 pound backpack on my back. Nor had I camped overnight alone in the woods, so this trip was an amazing adventure for this 50+ year old.

The reason I bring this up, is, I took a little digital camera with me to take snapshots along the way. But the SD card had since gone missing and I thought I had lost the photos.  The other day, Katelyn found the SD card, which had miraculously made the trip from Virginia to PA and turned up while she was organizing our “junk drawer.” So, this week I’ve enjoyed reliving the beauty of last spring in the mountains of Virginia, while we wait for Spring to emerge here in Pennsylvania.

As I sat down to write a few thoughts for my continuing blog on the fruit of the Spirit, I instantly thought of a picture in this collection.  It’s of a tree growing up through solid rock. And this was only one out of dozens of trees just like it that I saw on the trail.

Check it out. Over the course of its life, this tree has actually split a boulder in half and lifted it almost a foot off the ground.  What kind of power does it take to crack, split and lift solid rock? How did that happen?  I’m sure there are all kinds of scientific reasons, but for my simple mind, the answer is pretty clear- the tree stayed connected to the root, which produced growth.  The tree didn’t try to lift the rock, it just happened as a by-product of healthy growth.

For the last 4 weeks we’ve been considering the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is a bundle of character traits found in Galatians 5:22-23 that God is producing in his children (us) in ever increasing measure as we rely on his Spirit. This week’s character trait is “goodness” which is 5^th in line, behind: love, joy, peace, patience and kindness.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. Look at that list!  “So, I’m supposed to be more loving, more joyful, more peaceful, patience and kind… and now goodness, for goodness sake (which is a moral disposition of uprightness and holiness)?”  I feel exhausted and we’re barely half-way through the fruit!  I thought Jesus said his yoke was easy and his burden was light (Matthew 11:30).  What’s wrong here?

Jesus addressed this concept directly in John 15. How are we to become more like Jesus?  What exactly is the process by which our lives begin to evidence the fruit of the Spirit. How are we to walk in the Spirit and develop “a moral disposition of uprightness and holiness?

Jesus said,

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

When it comes to developing Christ-like character, I think we go about it the wrong way.  We look at the fruit of the Spirit and think, “I need that! I need to be more like Jesus… I’ve got to work at being kinder, more loving, more joyful, more patient. And where’s that peace, anyway?” So, we form our checklists, strive to modify our behavior and then begin measuring and comparing ourselves with others. It’s an exhausting and ultimately self-defeating strategy. But think about it. That’s not how fruit is produced.  For a tree, producing fruit is merely a by-product of staying connected to the root. It grows by drinking deeply from its source of life. Jesus said, “without me, you can do nothing.”

Walking in the Spirit means staying connected to the Vine. It’s living with the realization that I am in Christ, and Christ is in me and we are eternally and irrevocably united.  As we grow in this relationship and stay connected to Jesus, fruit is produced.  In the presence of Jesus we find ourselves kinder, more loving, more patient and more joyful.  As we experience the goodness of the Lord in our own lives, it spills out to affect the lives of those around us.

That tree did nothing to split the boulder and lift it off the ground.  All it did was stay connected to its source of life.

This week, stay connected to Jesus.