The Key to a Fruitful Life
We are all likely familiar with Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Even if you haven’t read the Robert Louis Stevenson book, you’re familiar with the premise. Dr. Jekyll, a respected scientist, creates a potion that transforms him into the criminal and immoral Mr. Hyde. He struggles between the two personalities inside him, but the darker nature of Hyde gradually takes over.
For all of us, there is a Mr. Hyde living inside us. The difference is that we are not born as a respectable Dr. Jekyll; we are born with a sin nature reminiscent of Mr. Hyde. Evil and sin are at home in us. “There is no one who does what is good, not even one” (Rom. 3:12).
But when we come to Christ, He gives us a new nature. Don’t go too quickly past that profound truth. You are made new in Christ. His Holy Spirit takes up residence in you.
That old nature is still around though. Out of habit, we often listen to it and follow its whims. But we don’t have to! Far from it. Let me stress again: we have a new nature grounded in Christ. When we look to Him, rely on Him, and fall into His arms for strength—well, the power of our new nature in Christ is greater that the power of the old sin nature. As we continually look to Him and rely on His presence, His new nature is what is seen. We become more and more like Jesus.
I recently reread Victory Over the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson. He shared an illustration that helped drive this truth home for me.
“In Arizona, city parks and boulevards are decorated with ornamental orange trees that are a much hardier stock than the trees that produce the sweet oranges we eat. Because they can survive colder temperatures, they are used for root stock.
“The ornamental orange is allowed to grow to a certain height; then it is cut off, and a new life (such as a navel orange) is grafted into it. Everything that grows above the graft takes on the new nature of the sweet orange. Everything below the graft retains the physical characteristics of the ornamental orange. Only one tree remains when it is fully grown. The physical growth of the tree is still dependent upon the roots that go deep into the soil for water and nutrition. What grows above the graft takes on the nature of what was grafted into it.
“People don’t look at a grove of navel oranges and say, ‘That grove is nothing more than a bunch of root stock!’ They would call them navel orange trees because they would identify the trees by their fruit. That is how we should be known.”[1]
In Galatians 5, Paul contrasted life lived in the flesh (the old nature) and life lived in the Spirit (the new nature). To borrow from Anderson’s illustration, Jesus is the “root stock” that strengthens, empowers, and sustains us. When we are one with Him—in total dependence and reliance on Him—the fruit of the new nature is evident.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).
When we live like that, we are becoming like Christ. If you’re wondering about your growth in Christ, the answer lies in the fruit.
“So you’ll recognize them by their fruit” (Matt. 7:20).
The Mr. Hyde in us is gone, but it’s not a Dr. Jekyll that is now seen. It’s Jesus.
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This post supports the study “Purpose Lived” in Bible Studies for Life and YOU.
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[1] Neil T. Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness (Gospel Light, 1990), ch. 4.
