What a Japanese Maple tree teaches us about the Holy Spirit

Recently at church I shared the story of our Japanese Maple tree in the church yard. Apparently these trees are supposed to turn this beautiful, bright red colour each autumn. But until this year this particular tree was refusing to do that. The grass of the lawn had grown up around the base of the tree preventing the roots from soaking up the nourishment they need.

About two years ago, Claire set about bringing nourishment to the roots of the tree. She cut back the lawn and began laying mulch…a particularly potent home grown mulch full of worms!

I’d watch Claire doing this most days and also look at the tree and see very little change.

But about a month ago, Kay (a long term dearly loved member of our church and expert gardener) walked past the tree and winked at Claire and said ‘well done!’

It struck me that this is precisely how the Holy Spirit often works in our lives.

Internally, gradually, but powerfully.

As we’ve been working through 2 Corinthians we see this dynamic often. In a nutshell Paul says that the Holy Spirit brings about change when our hearts are affected by the gospel. This is what Paul speaks of when he writes to the Corinthians:

'You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.'

2 Corinthians 3.3

The Holy Spirit is the marker of the new covenant God has established with his people. The old covenant, was not bad, it just served its purpose. The new covenant far surpasses the work of the old covenant in that it takes God’s word deep into the core of our being. God’s powerful, personal presence has now taken up residence in our hearts, applying the work of Jesus into the deepest recesses of our hearts. Remarkble!

Like the transformation that has taken place with the maple tree, the work of the Spirit often goes unnoticed. This seems to me because of where it takes place, in our hearts. So the work of the Spirit is primarily internal. And according to the bible, the heart is the control centre of our lives. You can’t see what is going on in the human heart, but over time you will see the outward affects of what is happening internally.

It follows then, that the work of the Spirit is often a gradual work. Looking at the tree each day I may not notice the change that is taking place in the roots. But when I take a step back and look what that tree has now become compared to what it used to be it’s striking. The same dynamic is often at work in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Because it’s gradual it would be a mistake to assume it’s not powerful. The Spirit’s work in our hearts is so powerful that Paul likens it to a moment of new creation. As powerful as that moment when God spoke the world into being:

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ

2 Corinthians 4.6

How have you seen the Spirit gradually, but powerfully, transforming the life of a brother or sister?
I’ve found this to be a helpful question to reflect on as it causes me to take a step back and notice what God has been doing in someone’s heart over time.

Why not reflect on this question, and ask someone to do the same for you.

Learning to Pray

Learning to come before God each day in prayer has certainly helped me to grow as a Christian. I say learning as it’s not something that always comes naturally or has been easy to do.

I remember saying my first heartfelt prayer with a Scripture teacher in primary school. This teacher made a life-changing impact on me for she demonstrated that God was relational—that he wanted me to know him.

When I was younger, I used to worry that I hadn’t ever really been taught how to pray. I realise now that it’s much less about what I say to God than my attitude when I do come to him. All that I need to bring to him is myself. I don’t need to worry about the right words or my own efforts, but just to come humbly as I am, acknowledging him as my Lord and Saviour.

There have been moments in my life when I’ve tried to pray and haven’t been able to find any words. I also recall a time more recently when all that I could pray for days on end was the Lord’s Prayer, over and over again. But I’m aware that he already knows all of my needs and that even when I am unable to express myself it honours God to kneel before him.

When I pray it helps to go somewhere quiet, although finding uninterrupted time can be hard. So sometimes I pray in the middle of the night, behind a closed door, in the backyard, sitting in the corner of a quiet room, or with my eyes and ears covered in a noisy one. Where and when doesn’t matter. It just matters that I do. That I learn to pour out my heart to God, and that I learn to be quiet and to listen to him.

Shift work, sickness, babies and family issues are some of the challenges over the years that have made it tough to spend time regularly with God, but through all of these things I’ve been taught the importance of prayer, and now I yearn to do so. God has shown me in so many ways just how faithful he is, and I want to grow to know him more.

I know that God desires for us to spend time with him. So, this year, I plan to continue with God’s help to set aside some time each day, just for him, and to fix my eyes on Jesus. I encourage you to do the same.

Why and How to Grow as a Child of God in 2020

I don’t know about you but I’m a sucker for new year’s resolutions. In December and January, I sit down with my journal and come up with ten goals that I hope will shape my year. It’s so easy for these goals to be gobbled up by my work, my physical health and by my relationships. And it’s so easy for my spiritual growth to be neglected, or maybe just to assume that it will happen on its own.

Now you don’t need a list of ten goals to help you grow as a child of God, but you and I do need to have a concern for spiritual growth.

Over January we’ll be hearing from some of our friends from church who will share about different things that have helped them to grow as children of God.

To help us as we begin, I want to mention two brief things.

1. Why you need to be concerned with growth

God’s vision for you is to grow in maturity in Christ. You can see this quite clearly in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

He (Jesus) is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. (Col 1.28)

The thing about Christian growth is that you will never simply arrive. There will always be more room to grow as a child of God. There are many, many other verses we could reflect on here. But pursuing maturity in Christ is something every Christian is called to do.

2. How growth happens

In the upcoming posts we will hear some really practical thoughts about a range of spiritual disciplines. Each of those spiritual disciplines (e.g. prayer, Bible reading, service, solitude) are an outworking of the gospel. This is so important to grasp. 

Fundamentally, you can only grow as a child of God by the grace of the gospel. 

Notice how Paul puts it in Titus 2.11–14:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Paul says that the grace of God doesn’t just save us, it changes us. It helps us to grow in godliness. To put it another way, the gospel isn’t just about knowing the ABC’s of the Christian life, it’s the power that will enable you to live out the A to Z’s of the Christian life.

As you look to 2020 and develop a plan to grow as a child of God, make sure you develop a habit of applying the grace of the gospel to your own heart.