1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. (Isaiah 60:1-2) 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. (Isaiah 61:1-4)
More and more “fruits of righteousness” have been bearing from our church, an “oak of righteousness” that the Lord has planted; these berries have the potential to give people spiritual life. Noticing the abundant and ripe fruits, people will, one by one, slowly come to this place of worship.
However, during the season in which the fruits ripen, the tree must sometimes endure the harsh rain and wind, sometimes fight the scorching sun, sometimes conquer the coldness of the evening dews, sometimes have to be patient, sometimes have to be thirsty, sometimes feel its branches being severed, and in midst of all of this, not be able to see how close they are to the finish line. Only the ones that ‘clear’ this ‘level’ through faith will be able bear more and more fruits of life and spirit. The tears from our journey will change into our songs.
Spiritual fruits will start to mature through a relationship with God; they will bring to life once they get fed on other spiritual fruits from God. He is the exclusive provider of the spiritual nutrition needed for the fruits to bear. Only when we are connected through Christ and look solely at him does the tree start to bear.
The spiritual fruits will ripen in quite contradictory situations. Fruits of love mature in situations when it is impossible to love, and fruits of joy ripens when it is impossible to be happy. In times of dissension, the fruits of peace will create its sweetness and circumstances where it is hard to have patience is when the fruits of patience itself lose its bitterness. When we have power will the fruit of self-control mellow, and — again — in situations when it is hard to have joy will the light from it start to shine. Hence, we need faith in the process of bearing fruits. Let us look at the Lord with faith. He will, through us, revive the world. We will rise up and shine.
From pastor, JiWon Choi