Discovering Fruits of the Spirit in the Christmas Tree
by Barbara T. Marshall

It was a wet, windy, thunder-storming Sunday and the day we had set aside to get our Christmas tree. Our family tradition is to dig up a tree from a tree farm, roots and all, so it can be planted in our yard in the new year. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

This particular year, my parents were visiting from Holland and joined us in our trek to the tree farm. I pushed to go even in the midst of the pouring rain and crashing thunder, and my family thought I was nuts. For me, it was a great adventure. I had grocery bags for everyone's feet so we could hike through the mud with umbrellas in hand, our shovels and a rope in search of our perfect tree. Of course, getting a unanimous decision on which was the perfect tree was an adventure in itself, but we chose one and proceeded to dig it out and haul it to the car, through the mud and pouring rain. Fun? Maybe not. Unforgettable? Absolutely!  

Reflecting back, it made me realize how Jesus chose a tree. He chose to hang on a tree. He had made up His mind and showed us a Gift like the fruit of the Spirit. A tree to celebrate Christmas in joy with us. And then you can see how the fruit of the Spirit are such a part of God. Love, joy and peace are habits of the mind, which find their source in God. 

We finally got the tree home, and you will not believe what happened next!   A slight problem; the tree ended up being taller than the ceiling!  It needed to be pruned by at least a foot in order to fit in the house. Next came lights. Now, have any of you noticed that this hanging of the lights is actually a gift of the Spirit; patience, kindness and goodness?

So often we make such a mess of our lives and we get ourselves in so much trouble.  For Jesus' Light to shine through us, for the fruits of the Spirit to be apparent in our lives, we need to be untangled ourselves. To put things back together right, it takes patience, kindness and goodness for the Lord to even consider working on us once again. This process can be frustrating for us. However, once completed, things begin to look so beautiful and much brighter, and we can become proud of the results we find in our tree.  Our lights will shine, and we will have the Wow factor!!   

Our family's Christmas tree lights are all stars and they remind me of the star that was the sign to all, that a King was born in Bethlehem.  A star to let the world know that the Messiah Jesus Christ was born.  What a night that must have been!  

In Psalm 119:105 - it reads, "Thy word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path."  
The light in our tree reminded me of the Light of Jesus shining in my heart. It gives me the feeling of a joyful smile.  Jesus, and the love, joy, and peace that He gives us, is the real Christmas. For Jesus to have His light shine more brightly, He prunes us, so we can fit better in our assigned positions.  He untangles us, so we can be a better, more patient and kinder person.  We are then ready to reach out to others, have fellowship and be a contagious Christian.

Then there are the ornaments to be selected and put on the tree. With the fruit of the Spirit, there are three fruit left. The three graces that guide the general conduct of a believer, as we are led by the Spirit. They are faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
If you look carefully, you can see some of the gifts in some of your ornaments.  

We all have our favorite ornaments. I too have a few.  I have many angels in my tree, all rejoicing of the peace they announce Christmas has brought.  Luke 2: 14 reads, Glory to God in the Highest and peace on earth among men with whom He is pleased.  

The angels remind me of the joy that the Chosen One Jesus brought for us, to be able to have peace on earth.  I take out some special ornaments, a special paper angel (love, joy and peace), which is very special to me.  It reminds me of my first friend in America, as I received this gift from her mother. A mother who loved Jesus, who struggled with cancer for many years and handed this precious gift to me before she died. This women knew Love.  She loved those around her, and had joy because she knew Jesus personally.  She had peace when she died, as she knew her future. It touched my heart and this angel reminds me of how Jesus shows His love, joy and peace to us, by His great love and care for us.

Another favorite was the little Santa hat, that had showed the gift of patience, kindness and goodness. Patience for Jordan, who I was pregnant with at the time, and a week late. My son Jordan was born on December 23rd, seventeen years ago. The nurses in the hospital were so gentle and caring.  I was so excited about the goodness of the Lord for this new life within my arms.  The nurses had returned Jordan to me, after taking him for a couple of minutes, to put this little Santa hat on for his first trip home. It showed me just how patient Jesus was at His birth, by willing to come and save us. It showed us how good He was by letting go of what He had.  It showed His kindness for being willing to show up, to come take our place on a tree. Born to bring real peace, as the angels were singing. And as I brought Jordan home, I knew that Jesus had left His home with patience, goodness and kindness in mind, to save humankind.  

There is one more ornament I would like to share with you, It is this little bell. Have any of you seen the movie classic, " Its is a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart?  Remember the bell in the Christmas tree that rang when the angel had received his wings? It is about this man who wished he had never lived, and if he hadn't lived, how many people would have missed out. He gets in a lot of trouble and then at the end, he sees the miracle of all coming together.  That the result when you constantly give people gifts with love, joy, peace, patience and kindness and goodness. His actions showed up like gifts on a Christmas tree.  

Well, several years ago, we had a new daycare child that started in our daycare, we will call him Bryce. The parents were divorced and were angry with each other. One day, during the daycare hours, the front door bell rang. We had a daycare licensing inspection.  As it turned out, someone decided to make our life miserable, just to get even with his ex-wife, and he had reported us. All the complaints seemed to be incorrect, and as the inspector left, we needed to make an important decision.  Were we going to deal with this problem; or be faithful to the child and control ourselves, to do what was right? We ended up deciding on the first choice, so we would not have to deal with the hassle. Overnight, this decision bothered me.  I could not sleep and changed my mind. After talking with Ken, we decided for the best interest of the child, we would need to toughen this one out, even if it meant struggle and hassle. Something amazing happened a half year later. We ended up getting the little boy's twins stepsisters in our daycare. And then after so much hassle and frustration, for Christmas they gave us this bell.

Reflecting back on this bell, it taught me a very valuable lesson. The lesson was that the fruit of the Spirit in that bell is self-control, and not fear or running away from the problem.
 
As I looked at our tree, I saw the fruit of the Spirit in the tree. Every year, Jesus wants to add more gifts underneath and in your tree.  Some of these gifts are mentioned below.  

When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5: 22

Love: John 3:16:   For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Joy: John 15: 11   Angels were singing and praising God.

Peace:   Luke 12: 14   Angels said peace on earth.  

Patience:  It took great patience for Jesus to come to earth to show us the way. God's patience by even sending a precious gift Jesus not willing to give up on us sinful people.

Goodness: Jesus always was doing Good and helping others in need.

Kindness: Jesus healed the sick, had compassion for those in need, and grieved with those who were upset.

Faithfulness: Jesus was faithful to come for a cause that He believed was worth dying for. He showed us how faithful He was by forgiving our sin. 

Quality which renders a person trustworthy or reliable, like the faithful servant.

Gentleness: Jesus was so gentle with the children. He loved them unconditionally.

Self-control: Jesus never called on His divinity while He was a human.

When you put your tree up, will it be shining for Jesus? Is it a witnessing tool of the growth and light; star and ornaments that Jesus chooses to come as a little baby to come hang on a tree?

Christmas is Jesus wrapped in a Christmas tree waiting to give us Himself.

Each year as we celebrate His birth, He wants to give us more fruit:

• The gifts for the mind: Love, joy, peace;
• The gifts that are actions: patience, kindness, goodness;
• The gifts that are led by the Holy Spirit: faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

When we accept His gifts and when Jesus shines, it will show all year long.

Jesus choose a tree to hang on. He was full of Light when He came and died; and He showed us the Way, and the ornaments is that. 

He is alive after three days, and shines through us to the outside world with the fruits of the Spirit. And the more we have the gifts, the more we gain blessed gifts under our tree and in our tree for it shows to the outside world; love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, patience , gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. God chose Jesus to be our Christmas present, the Greatest Gift of all.  He wants this present to shine with the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, and when we do, the ornaments in our lives will each show character and fruit, and have a harvesting result.