Last night I was sitting on the floor holding my 3-year-old daughter on my lap. We were watching "The Wizard of OZ" and it was getting past my bedtime. Working first-shift I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning so my bedtime generally runs earlier than my kids'.
We had just gotten past the point where Dorothy and the Lion succumb to the "poison poppies" and drifted off to a seemingly eternal sleep when I whispered in my little ones ear "Emma, it's time for daddy to go to sleep now too. I have to get up in the morning and go to work." She looked at me very forlorn and said in the sweetest voice "But then I will be sad." When I asked her why she said, "Because my heart will miss you."
These are the moments that melt a father's heart. It was at that moment that I realized how special this moment was.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Harvesting the Fruit
In Jesus’ parable of the sower He shows us what happens when seed is sown upon a path, on rocky ground, among thorns and finally in good soil. The parable is a metaphor for our lives in Christ. The seed, the Word of God; the various terrains represent the various state of a person’s heart.
I had a dream that I was walking in this magnificent garden. It was lush and fertile. When I bent down to inspect the vegetables however, I was stunned. As beautiful as this garden was there apparently was nobody there to harvest the vegetables. They had become oversized and malformed. Also, because the existing vegetables continued to get it’s sustenance from the plant there were no new blossoms. When I tried to pick a particularly gnarly green bean the owner of the garden showed up and began yelling at me. “This is MY garden what do you think you’re doing? I want people from miles around to come walk in my garden. To see how grand it is.” Then I woke up.
One of the most absurd practices I have ever read about is farm subsidies. There are apparently some farmers who have been paid by the government to grow crops but NOT distribute the fruits of their labor. My question to you is this. If you were one of those farmers would you put all of your time and energy in to growing a harvest you knew was going to be wasted? You would probably invest just enough time to ensure that the crop looked impressive to those who passed by, so they would say to themselves “boy, that person but be a great farmer.”
So it is with many Christians. In the beginning of our walk we are fertile soil. The seed takes root and a viable plant springs forth. When we develop the fruits of the spirit something happens. We are faced with a choice. Do we harvest the fruit to share it with others in need of nourishment? Or do we leave the fruit on the branches to become overgrown and malformed?
Unfortunately some choose the latter. The Christian becomes so enamored with the praise they have received from others how beautiful their fruits have become that they are loathe to distribute it. Perhaps out of not wanting to expose their selves and make them emotionally vulnerable. Perhaps they enjoy the praise and thrive on the complements. Perhaps because they are afraid once harvested the fruit will never grow back.
When growing roses the gardener must be very diligent, yet meticulous about pruning. If you prune too much, or at the wrong time you may permanently injure the plant. But if you know what you are doing, and prune the branches just right you have beauty to share with others for an entire season. It’s a very similar concept in the vegetable garden. If I leave the cucumbers or green beans on the plants too long they get overgrown, malformed, and taste bitter. They are of no use to anyone. Not only that but you are preventing new blossoms from flourishing. You have to pick them at just the right time.
I believe the same holds true for the “fruit of the spirit” that we are taught about in Sunday school. We can leave that fruit to sit on the vine for others to admire so they will think “boy, that person must really be a good Christian.” But after a while the fruit gets overgrown, burdensome. It turns ugly and becomes bitter until it shrivels and dies on the vine. But if we share our fruits, continually pruning and sharing with others we will have an overabundant crop of beautiful and sweet fruit. As pleasing to the eyes as it is nourishing to the soul.
I had a dream that I was walking in this magnificent garden. It was lush and fertile. When I bent down to inspect the vegetables however, I was stunned. As beautiful as this garden was there apparently was nobody there to harvest the vegetables. They had become oversized and malformed. Also, because the existing vegetables continued to get it’s sustenance from the plant there were no new blossoms. When I tried to pick a particularly gnarly green bean the owner of the garden showed up and began yelling at me. “This is MY garden what do you think you’re doing? I want people from miles around to come walk in my garden. To see how grand it is.” Then I woke up.
One of the most absurd practices I have ever read about is farm subsidies. There are apparently some farmers who have been paid by the government to grow crops but NOT distribute the fruits of their labor. My question to you is this. If you were one of those farmers would you put all of your time and energy in to growing a harvest you knew was going to be wasted? You would probably invest just enough time to ensure that the crop looked impressive to those who passed by, so they would say to themselves “boy, that person but be a great farmer.”
So it is with many Christians. In the beginning of our walk we are fertile soil. The seed takes root and a viable plant springs forth. When we develop the fruits of the spirit something happens. We are faced with a choice. Do we harvest the fruit to share it with others in need of nourishment? Or do we leave the fruit on the branches to become overgrown and malformed?
Unfortunately some choose the latter. The Christian becomes so enamored with the praise they have received from others how beautiful their fruits have become that they are loathe to distribute it. Perhaps out of not wanting to expose their selves and make them emotionally vulnerable. Perhaps they enjoy the praise and thrive on the complements. Perhaps because they are afraid once harvested the fruit will never grow back.
When growing roses the gardener must be very diligent, yet meticulous about pruning. If you prune too much, or at the wrong time you may permanently injure the plant. But if you know what you are doing, and prune the branches just right you have beauty to share with others for an entire season. It’s a very similar concept in the vegetable garden. If I leave the cucumbers or green beans on the plants too long they get overgrown, malformed, and taste bitter. They are of no use to anyone. Not only that but you are preventing new blossoms from flourishing. You have to pick them at just the right time.
I believe the same holds true for the “fruit of the spirit” that we are taught about in Sunday school. We can leave that fruit to sit on the vine for others to admire so they will think “boy, that person must really be a good Christian.” But after a while the fruit gets overgrown, burdensome. It turns ugly and becomes bitter until it shrivels and dies on the vine. But if we share our fruits, continually pruning and sharing with others we will have an overabundant crop of beautiful and sweet fruit. As pleasing to the eyes as it is nourishing to the soul.
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