Waiting on the Lord: New Testament

Unit 02
Lesson 05
Student Choice #2
 
My husband and I were driving the other day and the song, "Renegades" came on. We were both singing along and when it got to the chorus I started to belt, "Living like we're in a cage!" Craig turned down the music and asked, "what do you think they are saying??" feeling confused I replied, "living like we're in a cage...." he literally couldn't stop laughing! Finally, when he could barely talk again, he said, "Rebekah..." laughter... "they're saying 'living like renegades" more laughter... "not 'living like we're in a cage!'" and then he proceeded to laugh for the rest of the car ride home. 

In my defense, I dare you to listen to that song again and you tell me, what does it sound like they are saying? (here is the link-->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSJhrO2Ydao )

From this silly scenario, I've learned that you can't always trust what you hear. The most ironic part of my lyric mix up is Renegades are meant to be "free spirited" runaways... and I was interpreting them saying the exact opposite of what they wanted their song to mean. 

When it comes to the gospel, how can we know what we are hearing is true? It's not as easy as looking up the lyrics to "renegades" to find answers to gospel questions. God expects us to act and wait. 

One of my favorite missionary chapters was about Alma when he is teaching the poor of the Zoramites about Faith. There is something in that chapter that I found (only after reading it a million times...) that I had never noticed before. Alma compares faith to planting a seed in the ground and then nourishing it so it'll grow. At the very end of the chapter he says this Alma 32:43
"Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you." 

I used to imagine Alma was saying that we sweat, we work, we dig, and prune, and then one day our little seed becomes a tree and wa-la! It has this wonderful fruit and you're set for the rest of your life. Not so. I don't know about you... but there have been times where I've done a whole lot of pruning... sweating... working... digging... and still have a barren tree. Have you ever experienced that? I mean, I would go months and months, without seeing as much as a blossom on my tree! But why? I think Alma answers it in the last sentence, "waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you." Faith isn't just the process of growing the tree... it's the constant waiting and constant nourishment that needs to be done until the tree brings forth fruit. 

My father-in-law has his own fruit trees and, boy, are they a lot of work! He's constantly either pruning them, or watering them! But then, when you eat some of the fruit from the tree... you realize why he does it. 

Just thinking about my father-in-law and his trees, makes me believe that Alma taught a great representation of how to grow our faith and receive the benefits from it. It's not automatic, it takes work, but it's worth it in the end. 

I think some of us grow our tree and then expect it to just spontaneously give us fruit when we need it. I believe that this goes along with James 1:25 
 "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." 

I love how James refers to those who stop nourishing their faith as "forgetful hearers" because I think a lot of us who stop nourishing our tree aren't always doing it on purpose, but because we have forgotten. 

As I have thought about these scriptures this week and my own personal experiences with faith, I know that as we are doers of the word and not just hearers only... or in other words... if we continually strengthen our faith everyday and not just expect it to grow on its own, Heavenly Father will bless us. I love what King Benjamin says when he is talking to his people right before he dies Mosiah 2:41
"Consider on the blessed and happy state of those who keep the commandments of God, for they are blessed in all things. Both temperal and spiritual..."