Commissioning a Symphony in C

Morning everyone,



It seems that God has been pruning trees in middle Tennessee this year. The empty lot next to my house has lost three rather large trees in the last couple of weeks and I lost one the night before last. Some time during the night it came crashing down upon my neighbor’s house. Very little damage thankfully but it is wrapped up in hot power lines and nobody seems to be in a hurry to get it taken care of.



The tree was an old Black Walnut that was probably older than I am. I realize that is not old for a tree but it is a comparison anyway. I would have counted the rings but there weren’t any. The tree was hollow inside. Now it was still alive in a technical sense, I guess. It was putting forth leaves, it was creating oxygen which is a good thing but it hadn’t produced any walnuts in a long, long time.



That reminded me of a lot of things. One of them was the parable of the tree that wasn’t producing fruit. "A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?' And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'"



Somewhere around that same time Jesus became hungry and saw a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves and He said to it, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered.



I can’t help but think of the church. We produce a lot of leaves but for the most part inside we’re hollow. Who knows when the last time was we produced any real fruit. I’m not talking about evangelism I’m talking about the fruit of obedience. We spend all our time witch hunting for bad theology and slicing up any one who is even remotely suspicious while at the same time we nurture our hatred like it was our way to salvation. Contrary to popular opinion good theology doesn’t save you, bad theology doesn’t send you to hell. It is lawlessness that keeps one out of the presence of God and lawlessness alone.



Keeping with the tree motif Jesus said: "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.



Hatred is lawlessness whether it be toward the theologically incorrect, homosexuals, muslims, or conservatives. I remember reading Francis Schaeffer’s lament about how in the 20th century fight against liberalism and the gutting of the pillars of the faith the church didn’t love well at all. We haven’t learned much over the last century. We still don’t love well. When I say that I mean we don’t keep the law very well. We prefer shock and awe devastation be poured out on our perceived enemies and in doing so we are practicing lawlessness.



Bad Theology and obedience trumps Good theology and lawlessness every time. The way the modern day Pharisees and Sadducees treat each other reminds me of a song by Cake called: Commissioning a Symphony in C. One verse says:



You’re sitting there thinking your thoughts

They are not about what is but what is not

You are sitting there breathing in your breath

You are seldom breathing life but mostly death



Living is not the goal of the tree of the church, producing leaves is not the goal, producing oxygen is not the goal: producing fruit is the goal.



Lawfullness is all that matters. Love your neighbors. Love your enemies. Do justice and love mercy. If you love me KEEP my commandments.



Now, if we could only remember what they were.



Wondering just how hollow I am,



Brad