A Garden in the Midst of the World

A recent Bible Study on the True Vine helped me get a better understanding of the importance of remaining in the vine, and the need of “purging” and casting away the “old man.”

This purging may seem harsh, yet this process cannot be avoided. It is letting go of anything that inhibits our relationship with God, and it cannot be done through human effort. “No branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine.” Jesus imparted this lesson before he left his disciples, to comfort them and teach them the need of having a close relationship with God by following the precepts he taught. Jesus pointed them to the Christ which animated him. The Christ nourishes us, and the laws go into our inward parts.

In the past, I sought the fruit of the Spirit for personal profit and to make my little corner of the world more comfortable. Now I know that, if my thinking becomes inward, I am no longer abiding or attached to Him. This expanded my understanding of the need for unselfed living in order to practice Christian Science.

Our mission is to glorify our Father, and we can’t help but be blessed by the fruits of the Spirit when we freely share with all mankind. I read, “A church (or Christian) is not to be an isolated hothouse, but a garden in the midst of the world.” As was said during the class, a place should be better for your having passed by.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)