They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3
In Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the Messiah, he refers to the people Jesus would someday heal and set free as mean and women who become “oaks of righteousness.” The figure brings to mind tall, powerful, and stately oaks that stand the test of time and withstand the strongest storms. We all want to be that kind of believer.
This morning, in a men’s group I am part of, we began to discuss the concept of spiritual fruit in the kingdom and how certain trees and vines grow to produce more fruit. One of our men, who owns and operates his own landscape business, told us that certain trees, after germination, grow root systems for up to two years before the trunk begins to appear above the ground. Nutrients and stability come from the root system and without strength there, the tree will eventually fail. As a result, the tree gives all of its energy to growing down before it gives energy to growing up.
As a church that believes in the operation of all the spiritual gifts, it is not unusual to see new believers or believers who have just begun to experience the power of God get very excited and very focused on operating in those gifts. After all, there is nothing like being part of a miracle that God has just released into another person’s life. I think it is appropriate that new believers are hungry for the manifestations of God and want to experience more and more of his Spirit and his supernatural ways.
However, there is one caution that needs to be extended regarding the pursuit of such gifts or even the pursuit of bearing a great deal of fruit in the kingdom of God. The caution is that before we start operating abundantly in the gifts and before we start wanting to bear abundant fruit, we need to make sure that our roots go deep into the soil. Otherwise, the fruit that is produced quickly will wither just as quickly or the weight of the gifts will pull us over and uproot us in the midst of a strong storm.
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he was quick to point out that they operated, as a church, in all the gifts of the Spirit. In Chapters 12-14, he began to mention those gifts specifically: prophecy, healings, miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues, words of knowledge, supernatural wisdom, and so forth. That’s pretty heady stuff for a young church.
The real problem for Corinth is stated in Chapter 3. “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men (1 Cor.3:1-3)?
Although the church at Corinth was producing impressive fruit above ground, the root systems were still extremely shallow. The weight of their fruit or gifts was more than their foundation could support. As a result, there were jealousies, divisions, cliques, arrogance, self-promotion, and confusion in the ranks. The tree was unhealthy and beginning to topple. Ultimately, Paul pointed out in Chapter 13 that the evidence of true spirituality was not to be found first in the exercise of spiritual gifts, but in the exercise of love.
If the analogy is true, then the question becomes, how do I develop a deep root system that provides both nourishment and stability. In practical terms, digging into the Word of God each day and hearing from him is crucial. Jesus said that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. We need to personally dig into the Word itself, not just books by our favorite author about the Word.
Secondly, we need to be familiar with the whole counsel of God, not just one thin slice of that pie. It’s easy to get excited about prophecy, end-times, healing, leadership, worship, or any other facet of God’s word and pursue only that, listen to sermons about only that, and hang out with others who talk about only that. The problem is that we can develop tunnel vision and stay ignorant about God’s will in all the other areas of life. We can be filled with knowledge about one narrow slice of our faith and have no wisdom, perspective, or character for the remainder of our Christian living. It’s like taking tons of vitamin C but never getting adequate amounts of all the other vitamins and minerals that you need for life. Get in the Word daily, chew on it, talk about it, and ask God about it as you read through entire books discovering God’s directives for a multitude of things.
In addition, putting down roots depends on staying in one place for a while – plugging into a church, serving there, getting to know people, and letting them speak into your life. Too many believers these days shop around…for years. They are spiritual drifters who never stay anywhere long enough to develop meaningful relationships with others. John goes so far as to tell us that if we don’t love the brothers, we can’t love God. If we don’t stay put, we can’t love the brothers – at least not in any substantial ways.
Ultimately, our roots have to go down in a relationship with Jesus. Prayer and obedience facilitate that relationship. Regular times in prayer, praise, and doing what he directs us to do – being doers of the word and not hearers only – deepens that relationship so that when the wind blows, we stand on solid ground rather than shifting sands.
My point in all this is to encourage you to seek the gifts but even more than that and before that, seek to be rooted deeply in the whole counsel of God and in a relationship to Jesus. I am convinced that God is even more concerned about the character and heart of Christ being formed in us than he is in us doing miracles in his name. There is no doubt that God desires fruit, but years of fruit bearing is only possible if your roots grow deep. Be blessed today and put energy into going deeper even before growing taller.
