Last week we were speaking about purpose and calling and one of the verses that stood out was Romans 8:29
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
(Romans 8:29 NIV)
Before anything else, God wants us to become Christlike…
Jesus himself says:
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
(John 15:4 NIV)
“Remain in Me” says Jesus – Then you will bear fruit.
Have you every heard of Chameleon Vine? (Boquila trifoliolata)
Chameleon Vine is a species that copies pretty much any plant it comes into contact with. It engages in Mimetic Polymorphism, and lets it’s leaves take on the shape of other plants, typically poisonous ones nearby, so that animals and bugs don’t eat it.
Pretty cool.
How it does it, is a bit of a mystery, because they thoughht it was copying a chemical mix of the host plant, but in experiments, it would copy a plastic plant as well… so… nobody really knows…
But here’s the thing… It can look like another plant, and copy another plant… but it can never be that plant. You can’t let it grow against an apple tree and get it to produce apples! It looks like apple leaves, but the friut is its own fruit.
The fruit comes from tree… not the copy of the tree…
Now… Consider… If we are trying to imitate the Fruits of the Spirit. We are probably not going to get very far… It might look like patience, but if the right situation unlocks itself… that patience is out the window…
We can only bear the fruit, if we have Christ. If we are in Christ and Christ is in us, then we will automatically bear the fruit… the real fruit. but if we fake it… we will just have fake apples.
This never made sense to me… patience is patience… if you have it because you grew up in a certain type of household or if you have it because you go to church… what is the difference?
The difference is that we are not trying to learn patience… our goal is to develop a Godly Character… And its impossible to develop a Godly Character without the presence of God. If you have a healthy relationship with Christ, the Goodness of Christ will constantly be flowing into your life, and the fruits of the Spirit will be the result.
It is human nature to become like the people you spend time with… It is human nature to want to spend time with your people.
Spend time with God.
It is the single most important thing you can do to develop Godly Character!
Speak to God in Prayer and in Worship, and listen to God by reading your Bible, and by being quiet in prayer, and giving space in worship.
Be blessed and enjoy your time with Christ!
