BANANABOATS

In the circles I run in (and those I ran in) it is not uncommon to hear people say things like "I want to be more fruitful" or "I don't see much fruit in my life" or "I'm hoping to bear more fruit" or my favorite "I want my fruit to remain." It seems that many of my friends are looking to maximize their fruit production as well as their fruit's shelf-life. (I always like to imagine their fruit as bananas. Bananas are the archetypical fruit in my mind.)

It makes me wonder sometimes whether my fruit-conscious friends really think about what they're saying when they say such things, especially given how commonplace it is. Not that they couldn't defend the use of such language; in fact, I'm quite sure that most who say such things could take me to several verses in the Bible that say essentially or exactly the same thing (e.g., Col. 1:10). It's just I wonder whether they think about what the metaphor of "fruit" is really supposed to convey. Do they know what it means? Or has it been eviscerated through common use?

My guess is that if asked to describe what they mean by these expressions, and if given time to think, most would say that fruit is a biblical metaphor they employ for describing the things that they want or expect to see happen in or through their lives as a result of their faith in God. So, changed behavior is the fruit or expected result of a changed heart/disposition. Christian converts are the fruit or expected results of talks on the good news about who Jesus is and what he's done.

But I don't think many do consider what the fruit metaphor means. I didn't--really anyway--up until just this week. But thanks no doubt to the imperceptible action of the Holy Spirit in my brain I did finally consider it and found its meaning remarkable. The essential meaning that the fruit metaphors convey is that the results (fruit) are expected not merely because of our actions or efforts or intentions; they are because of God. Fruit is meant to convey the idea of new creation. The gospel message about Jesus in the Bible is metaphorically called a seed (Matt. 13; 1 Pet. 1:23), which when planted in the human heart (believed; Matt. 13) takes root, grows (continued belief through learning; Matt. 13; Col. 1:10), and eventually, invariably, bears fruit. Our moral conduct then is not simply the result of more carefully aimed efforts. We do aim for good behaviors, but what is actually true is that God brings about these behaviors in our life by nature of the new life now animating our old (Eph. 2:10).

OT v NT

One text that I've found particularly helpful for understanding how the OT relates to the NT is Hebrews 1:1-2:

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets*, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son..."

In the OT, the story of salvation comes piecewise ("at many times") and piecemeal ("in many ways") through multiplicity ("by the prophets") whereas in the NT it is given all at once, all together in the Singularity ("in these last days...by his Son"). What is found with much effort in the OT -- in narrative, poetry, hyperbole, rhetoric, judgment, and prophecy -- is (by comparison) handed to us in the NT, both in Jesus' bodily explanation and in the apostles' doctrinal; however, I believe the effort of learning the OT -- with a mind to its historical context and thus a reading of its original meaning -- is absolutely essential for a balanced perception of God. To support this point, consider Matt 13:52 where Jesus says that the disciple of the kingdom is to be handed in both. Sure the emphasis is on assimilating the 'new' revelation of Jesus with the 'old,' but the priority of the former does not obviate the latter (cf. Heb 2:1 for a similar emphasis). I find that the OT consistently challenges and enriches my framework for perceiving God, and that always by lending gravity to my natural tendency to regard the grace of God with levity. I need the mind of the OT with all of its struggle and longing to appreciate the astounding hope of the gift of Christ Jesus.

*refers to all of the OT witness, so say commentators (cf. Deut 18:15; Acts 1:16; 3:22; 4:25; 7:37; 26:22)

Isaiah 40 - 47

So I'm trying to do a better job of my learning, of archiving my spiritual progress. This blog, then, is for me first, my immense readership second. So here you go, Jason:

Yahweh of heaven's armies is the only God, the only one who rightfully can say, "I am, and there is no other" (Isa 46:9; cf. 47:8)
He is only one who can explain history, the narrative in diverse, seemingly disparate events, the course of the thread through the entangled ball (Isa 41:21-22; 43:12);
The only one who predicts the future, predicting with such specificity as demands the conclusion that he, sovereignly, causes and controls all things (Isa 41:22-29; 43:12; 46:10).
He is the only savior, the only one 'outside the system,' and therefore, the only one who can free one from it (Isa 43:11).
We are his creation, endowed with all his attributes but the one we need to make any of them useful: righteousness (Isa 46:12; cf. Gen 1:26-27).
He is the one who draws near, the one who brings his righteousness with him (Isa 41:10; 46:13).
He is one who expiates wrongness for his own sake, for reasons that make sense only to supreme reason, reasons that prove graciousness a fundamental of righteousness, reasons that give hope to those 'inside the system' -- inside the black, 'black box' (Isa 43:25-26)
Now hear this from the book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit in God's apostles: This man, Jesus of Nazareth, God has made both Christ (savior) and Lord (Yahweh of heaven's armies) (Acts 2:36).
He was the hope of Israel and is the only hope for us, a hope extended, an anchor for the soul for those who'll buy it (Heb 6:18-19; 11:13).
He is my most valuable possession, the only enduring thing about me, the only endearing thing about me.