What kind of plant are you?



What rich scripture today's reading gives us! 

Have you ever thought what you would look like if you were a plant? Would you be green and leafy? Would you have beautiful flowers? Fruit? How would you grow? What climate would you need? How would life be different from being a human?

I have often been told that you can tell a Christian by their "fruit". As Christians, we are branches of the true vine, and Our Father is the gardener. This can and should change our perspective on life. Humans are much like plants in that we have a few necessary conditions that must be met in order to grow. Unfortunately, we often seek out other things that stunt our growth. Jesus teaches the importance of remaining in God with the analogy of being branches on the vine. In order to bear fruit we must remain in Him. Remaining in God and bearing fruit are two things that require hard work. It's not easy to bear fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control), especially when we are spending time with other humans! There are times it's not easy to remain in God. We want to "grow our own way", but we do not always know what's best. That's when it's key to look to the Gardener to sustain us. Plants cannot survive without water, oxygen, and light. 

Let us turn to God to fulfill our thirst, our need for breath, and to be our light in this dark world. God, please cut off anything in our lives that does not embody love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, or self-control. Help us to focus on being fruitful. Help us to remain in you. Amen.