OUTDOOR TRUTHS: Leaves or Fruit

By Gary Miller 

July is the month when the fruit of sowing begins to show. Gardens begin to produce their harvest, and trees begin to reveal what has been hiding behind their leaves. For deer hunters, behind those oak leaves should be tiny acorns beginning to take shape. And since acorns are a deer’s favorite food, these signs tell us where to hang a tree stand. It’s not unusual for me this time of year, to just ride around on my side-by-side looking for the trees that will be dropping acorns during the upcoming deer season. And there’s really no rhyme or reason to know which trees these will be. Sometimes I will see a large tree, thick with leaves, and think this tree will be full of acorns, only to do a deeper look and find no fruit whatsoever. It looked “fruity,” but nothing was there.               

There’s a story in the Bible where Jesus saw a fig tree that looked fruity, but when He arrived at the tree, the figs were absent. He cursed the tree and it withered. He understood that while leaves do most of the work that makes fruit possible, leaves are not the fruit.

For years, when it came to the Christian life, I got the fruit wrong. I thought the fruit of a follower of Christ was church attendance, prayer, giving, Bible study, and some other disciplines. Somehow, I overlooked one of the simplest verses in the Bible. The Apostle Paul put it on the lower shelf for people like me. He said, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5:22-23 NLT) For some reason, I always thought these verses read this way. “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: Bible reading, church attendance, prayer, and giving.” I’m not sure how I missed something so plain. Maybe I couldn’t see the fruit for the leaves. More likely however, I thought the leaves were the fruit. Let me break this down quickly. (And you can join me on Zoom on Tuesday mornings as I talk about this.)  The true test of spiritual growth is not found in the leaves but in the fruit.

And what the Holy Spirit is trying to produce in you and me, is not church attendance, prayer, Bible study, or giving. These are only the leaves. And while they do most of the work toward producing fruit, they are not the fruit. Let me break it down a little more. If you and I are a follower of Christ and we are not more loving, joyful, peace-filled, have more patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, than we were a few years ago, then we have mistaken the leaves for the fruit. And while others may be initially drawn to our fruity look, they will ultimately leave disappointed because our life produced nothing that satisfied.

Gary Miller has written Outdoor Truths articles for 24 years. He has also written five books which include compilations of his articles and a father/son devotional. He also speaks at wild-game dinners and men’s events for churches and associations. Stay updated on Outdoor Truths each week by subscribing at Outdoortruths.org. Miller can be reached via email at outdoortruths@gmail.com.