Article April 10, 1995 Issue

Keep those pruners sharp

Evan Mehlenbacher

An acquaintance of mine had an older apple tree that had been producing only a few paltry fruits each year. An orchardist visited him one day. Taking advantage of the opportunity, my friend asked for advice on how to encourage that tree into better production. The visitor got a pair of pruners and a chainsaw, went out to the backyard, and started lopping, cutting, and sawing away. As branches tumbled to the ground, he explained that there were so many unproductive limbs needing to be removed that the pruning was going to be severe. There was no other choice at this point. But the heavy pruning would revitalize the tree and force a new set of healthy, fruit-bearing limbs to shoot out in all directions. And so it proved. In a few short years, the tree had a beautiful new canopy and was producing bushels of high quality, mouth-watering fruit.

There's a valuable lesson here for anyone desiring to be a more effective Christian healer. As with the tree, our thinking often needs a thorough cleaning out to allow for needed spiritual growth and renewal. Success in spiritual healing depends upon keeping our view of God and man fresh and vibrant. Stagnant states of thought, such as feeling at ease in matter, self-satisfaction, and the temptation to rest upon past triumphs, stymie progress Spiritward. They are unproductive modes of human consciousness that lull and discourage inspired initiative and prayerful effort which would otherwise promote spiritual progress.

Attitudes of thought conducive to spiritual healing include those described by Paul when he said, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal. 5:22,23). Our ability to heal is strengthened as we actively cultivate these qualities. They harmonize consciousness and demonstrate the present goodness of God, which is what spiritual healing is all about. Destructive attitudes such as hate, resentment, impatience, envy, and so on, must be pruned away, for they oppose the "fruit of the Spirit" and limit our ability to heal.

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