The God of Whole Persons
Background Information
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
Matthew 7:15–20
Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Matthew 13:18–23
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Galatians 5:19–23
Resources
File: The Tree of Negative Emotions.pdf
Introduction and Alignment
People are like trees. You know them by their fruit. That is the image that Jesus uses to describe how we operate. If we (our tree) are healthy (spiritually healthy), we will produce good fruit. If we (our tree) are unhealthy, we will produce bad fruit. Producing fruit is not really an option, only the kind of fruit we produce. Bad fruit can come in a variety of forms, including the kind the Apostle Paul lists in Galatians 5 that affects our sexuality, relationships, emotions, and thoughts. Jesus also tells us in Matthew 13 that the condition of a person’s soil affects whether the seeds of truth and grace will take root and, if they do, what might affect their ability to grow into a healthy tree or determine how much fruit they produce. Again, by using this simile of people as trees, Jesus reminds us of the importance of the healthiness of our tree in producing healthy fruit in our lives.
Through this simile, Jesus is also reminding us that our ability to produce healthy fruit is a process of growth and maturity. It starts with having a sincere heart that is open to truth and willingness to change (good soil) and requires perseverance and commitment to truth and growth over time (not getting choked out along the way by worries, worldly pleasures, or greed). Through this process of development and maturity, our tree will begin to bear fruit from the inside out as the Holy Spirit heals and changes us. The result is increasingly good fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control).
Many clients who come to us in the social work profession come with severely damaged trees. In addition to a nature bent toward sin like all of us, their soil (the things they did not choose) may have been full of dysfunction, abuse, neglect, injustice, and oppression. Their roots may be damaged by trauma, hurts, and negative experiences, driving them to seek relief from pain or to mistrust people. Their trunks (view of the world and internal thoughts) may be filled with doubt and negative thinking about life, people, God, relationships, or themselves. Their branches may be reaching out into a current environment that lacks resources, support, or opportunities. As a result of all of these things, along with personal choices over time, the fruit of their lives may be negative emotions (depression, anxiety, guilt, anger, unstable moods, mental illness) or negative behaviors (relationship problems, poor communication, addictive or compulsive behavior, criminal activity, and more). Their emotions may be in need of healing. Their thoughts may be in need of reprogramming. Their bodies or minds may need medication to help them function. They likely need supportive, caring relationships and resources, skills, and insight to help them make more positive choices and move toward recovery.
As social workers, we view people as whole persons and seek to address all the parts of their tree in helping them toward recovery. God is also a God of whole persons and has made a way to address each part of us through His Spirit and through the body of Christ. God knew that our tree was dead and needed first to be brought back to life by the power of His Holy Spirit, but He also knows that our tree needs to be transformed as we walk with Him in grace, truth, loving relationships, and new resources to produce the fruit of His spirit He longs for us to have.
Pray
God, you created us and know all that we need physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. Thank you that through your Holy Spirit working in us and through others we can grow and produce the fruit for which You designed us, fruit that gives us abundant life and blesses others. Continue to show me where You want to heal and prune my tree so I can produce more of the fruit of Your spirit. And even as You do, use me also to help others experience more of the life You long for them to have. Amen
Instructions
Review the document The Tree of Negative Emotions.pdf.
Navigate to the threaded discussion and respond to the following discussion prompts:
What therapeutic approaches or social work interventions are used to help people with the different parts of their tree (soil, roots, trunk, branches, and fruit)? Describe two that you think are most important.
What does the idea of people being like trees mean for how growth and change works in our lives? Discuss the implications for emotional and spiritual growth.
From a Christian worldview, sin has infected all of our tree, from the seed to the fruit, but God also has provided a way to address the impact of sin at each level. Identify and discuss at least one way God provides a solution for sin for a part of the tree.
Finally, discuss your thoughts on the idea that God views people as whole people and that His plan for redeeming people and making them new encompasses the whole person body, mind, and spirit. How does this affect your view of God, sin, and how God works in people’s lives?