Deciduous Christianity

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" and is typically used to refer to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves or drop fruit seasonally. In a more general sense, deciduous means "the dropping of a part that is no longer needed" or "falling away after its purpose is finished".

You probably already know where I’m going with this. Can you honestly say that your Christianity doesn’t--or won’t--fall into the deciduous category? Oh, what a shame it would be if we let our spiritual life lose its countenance like an autumn tree.

There are numerous biblical metaphors that relate to nature--gardening and agriculture in particular--and compare it to the spiritual health of individuals and of the Christian church. When I came across this word of “deciduous” it seemed to have struck a chord in me.

As I was pruning my fruit trees a while back these metaphors kept tapping me in the psyche and I marveled at the manner in which nature proliferates. I cut and prune and appear to mangle the poor things...only to find them budding new life a few short months later. If only my spiritual life could be so prolific. Although it’s hard, I realize why God prunes me back to what feels like stubs...only to have a new branch spring forth when the timing is right.

The falling leaves may be a natural process for trees just as a natural shedding of old habits, selfish desires, or a thousand other things should be shed from our lives. That said, we must be very careful not to shed that which is core to our lives. Those things that keep us spiritually alive; praise, kindness, music, selflessness, prayer, friendship and countless other traits and gifts which God has provided us for living in accordance to His purpose. These are the things which must not be shed like the autumn leaves.

When God spoke about being the vine and His followers being the branches, He knew full well this metaphor would hit home with the disciples. It certainly hit home with me.

“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

Greg Morton
Copyright © October, 2015

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