The Fruit of Becoming

"...while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."—John 15:2, NIV

All I remember is that it was a beautiful day, too beautiful for a man to stay cooped up indoors, so I walked briskly into it. Breathing deeply, clearing my head of fog, taking in all the sights, sounds, and aromas around me like a sponge. Preferred walks are long, solitary, and with varied terrain, but on this day, it was good to head to the “downtown route” that winds some three to five miles (depending on your ambition) along storefronts, waterfalls and rivers, steep neighborhood streets, and long stretches of back roads punctuated with homes and bicyclists and dog-walkers and guys running chain saws as part of the New England ritual of always getting ready for winter...

...Look the other way. Change direction. Pretend they’re not there. These are knee-jerk reactions when walking and being approached by missionaries of a belief system that I know is contrary to my own. This time, though, I was surprised that the tables were turned: Didn’t look down, didn’t turn down a side street. When they stopped to ask if they could sit down and talk, I found myself—hardly the bold conversationalist—asking them if I could first talk with them about what and Who I believed, and why.

And at first, they were the ones who started walking away. “Hey wait!” And what came out of my mouth next, I remember not, only that it wasn’t some deep, theological sentence-diagramming conversation designed to back someone into a corner with a finger-pointing "so there!" I wouldn’t know how to do that, anyway. What came out seemed mostly about this: "Believing and following Jesus…changes…everything in a man’s life."

“Jesus does not come to scare us into submission, but to woo us in friendship.”

—Brian Simmons, “Song of Songs—Journey of the Bride”

One seemed genuinely interested, as if eager to know the real deal. Another was decidedly skeptical but seemed curious to hear more. The third guy seemed interested as well, but started doing skateboard tricks either to try to distract me…or distract himself. The entire atmosphere was charged not with tension but with rather mysterious but tangible rest and heaven-sent Love…

…and then, as is often the case with a cool dream, you wake up before you get to the really good part. “What was that all about?”  The answer came the next morning, and I didn’t realize it until after I read back what my mind had downloaded randomly into my journal after just-so-happening to read Gospel stories of Jesus’ interaction with all kinds of curious people:

“This day, purpose to become more like, walk more like Jesus. Become is the word. This will take awhile, like your whole life, but keep becoming more and more. Put Him on each day as clothing. Keep abiding in what He did, who He is, and His words—as one of my pastors puts it, ‘pitch your tent there.’ Then be surprised and amazed at what He does. Remember the pruning of the tree out front? Those rogue branches that want to go off on their own strength but bear no fruit and so have to be pruned back. Not just one and done, but season after season. That is your life. Become is like that. And without even realizing it, the fruit gets more abundant and sweeter with each mile along the long journey. Become is for everyone of God’s kids, not just the bold and well-spoken. Remember what the religious leaders said about Peter and John, that they could tell they weren’t all that educated but had clearly been with Jesus. Become like that. Become can be done, not by my own strength like that rogue branch but simply because He is powerfully at work in me…if I will simply yield, even this day, to stay plugged into the Vine, and then keep on walking…”

“Therefore, become imitators of God. Copy Him and follow His example, as well-beloved children imitate their father. And walk continually in love; that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others—just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God, slain for you, so that it became a sweet fragrance.”

—Ephesians 5:1-2, Amplified