Living the Five

Jesus used a lot of farming metaphors to teach the people of his day:
he talked about the seed of the Gospel falling on rocky soil and good
soil, he described himself as the vine and his people as branches
that must remain in him, and he said the potential “harvest” of new
believers is plentiful if we will share the good news with them.
In his letters to the early churches, Paul also
used agricultural ideas. He wrote that we
reap what we sow, he talked about planting
and watering new congregations, and in the
book of Galatians he said growing Christians
should be like healthy trees, producing fruit
as evidence of their growth.
Paul knew a thing or two about growth—he
started out as an enemy of the church and
was transformed by a dramatic encounter
with Christ. His life is a beautiful example of
our second principle: growing people change.
... GROWING
CHRISTIANS
SHOULD BE LIKE
HEALTHY TREES,
PRODUCING
FRUIT AS
EVIDENCE OF
THEIR GROWTH.
GROWING PEOPLE CHANGE
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