The Good Tree
Date: July 9th, 2023
Size: 48” x 48”
Cost: $500
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” –John 15:5
Liz, a pastor at Hope, delivered a message about a tree and its fruit from Luke 6. This conjured up images of my favorite group of artists, the French Impressionists, and their depictions of farmers working or resting in fields. But, still not knowing how to compose the figures and trees, I stood and waited a good half hour. I wanted to paint a dramatic hillside landscape, but for some reason I went with a flat one today. Just then, Liz brought up a fact I had never heard before: “(Jesus) came down with them, and stood on a level place,” so in Luke 6, Jesus was giving “The Sermon on The Plain.” Bam! I could tell The Holy Spirit was already on the move today.
Then, I started painting the reclining figure looking down, but thought, ‘No, that’s wrong, better have him looking up,” Just then, Liz outlined the structure of the message: look; examine; do. Eureka! I now had all three figures. So, I started painting the figure in the foreground examining the quality of the apples, with the third figure on a ladder doing difficult and even dangerous work.
Look: We look at how Jesus lived. He surrendered his own life–looking always to Heaven and allowing The Holy Spirit to rule in his heart and mind, and perform miracles through him. Like the reclining figure, we can enjoy this Sabbath rest from self-effort.
Examine: What kind of fruit are we producing? Are we trying to grow fruit apart from the trunk?
Do: We do whatever it takes to clear those blocks. Especially, believing Jesus is the Lamb of God and has our back 24/7, so we can abide in Jesus and allow him to live through us–producing apples of sacrifice, healing and freedom.
Liz emphasized that external pressure (religion) can’t produce anything good. It’s The Holy Spirit within us that produces good fruit. Hallelujah, He is our good tree. and we each get to be a branch!