Fruit and Weeds

I've been working in the garden this week. I was pleased to find another apple on my tree. It was a big one too!

That apple tree produced an amazing amount of fruit this year. I have eaten my way through a big bowlful. And more than half of the apples fell off before I got round to picking them.

It's surprising because my tree is shaded by my neighbour's pear tree. Their tree had not been pruned for over 20 years (since we've been here). As a result it had grown into the 'free space' above my apple tree.

Of course I have to keep my apple tree pruned otherwise all the fruit is out of my reach. And those of you who know me will know that I don't have a long reach!

Although my neighbour's pear tree does produce pears each year, they are hard and woody, and not nice to eat. Don't tell them, or my wife, that I have tried to eat them! So it doesn't matter that no-one can reach them (unless you happen to be underneath when one of the pears drops out of the sky). Ouch!

So, if a Fruit Tree only produces inedible fruit, does that make it a Weed Tree?

And what about us? If we are growing fruit, is it useful 'edible' fruit, or useless 'inedible' fruit?

Last week our mid-week service was based on John 15:1-8. It makes rather uncomfortable reading. It's all about pruning, which can be a rather painful experience - since it involves bits getting cut off!

Fruitless branches get cut off, wither, and then get burned on the fire. It's not a literal scenario, since we are told we are like these branches if we produce 'bad' fruit. But we could be producing 'good' fruit. And even the 'good' branches get pruned.

Pruning cleans away the parts of us that are fruitless, or bear 'bad' fruit, and allows fresh new branches to grow, bearing sweet, pleasant-tasting, edible fruit to grow instead. Indeed, in the original Greek, Kathairow, the word used for 'pruning' also means 'cleaning'.

I wonder how my neighbour's tree will respond to the rather major 'cleaning' I gave it yesterday? Perhaps that part of the tree will now produce nice sweet pears. Although if it does, I think they will be my neighbour's pears!

But maybe my apple tree will be even more fruitful next year now that it can 'see the light' again.

Perhaps we could all do with a good clearout so that once again we could 'see the light'!