Mature in Christ

He started out as a bean farmer. Axel Erlandson was born in Sweden, emigrated to Minnesota as a young boy, and then moved once more to California where he married and worked his fields. One day, in 1925, he noticed how some branches in his hedgerow had grown together and it sparked an idea to shape trees as a hobby. He created designs on paper and then pruned, grafted, and bent small trees to train them into unique shapes.

Today, you can observe Erlandson’s astounding work at Gilroy Gardens in California. It features 24 trees that were grown and shaped with multiple trunks, basket-weave patterns, and hearts. Alex kept his methods a secret; when children asked how he got his trees to grow like this, he would reply, “I talk to them.”

Erlandson was called a tree shaper, but there is a spiritual arborist who bends, prunes, grafts, and shapes lives to perfection. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God is perfecting a people into His image (Ephesians 3:16, 19). The Bible word for perfect in Hebrew is tam or tamim and means “complete,” “wholesome,” and “blameless.” The Greek word for perfect is teleios and means “full-grown,” “mature,” and “having attained its purpose.”

Noah, Abraham, and Job were described as perfect and blameless (Genesis 6:9; 17:1; Job 1:1, 8), though each had imperfections. In the New Testament, perfect describes mature people who have lived up to the best available light and reached the potential of their spiritual, mental, and physical powers. Paul explains, “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature [teleioi]” (1 Corinthians 14:20).

We can never claim perfection in our own power, for it is through the Holy Spirit that we become like Christ in character. In horticultural words, Jesus captured it well: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Apply It:

The next time you plant a seed, remember Christ’s plan and power to grow you into His mature likeness.

Dig Deeper:

Ephesians 4:13, 14; Philippians 3:15; Hebrews 5:14

Key Bible Texts

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 KJV)