August 31, 2012
Fruitless
At first blush the remedy Jesus has for an unproductive plant, tree or
disciple can seem pretty harsh. I have a better appreciation for the Lord’s
view point when I look at the huge tomato plant in my mini garden. The plant is
stout, sturdy and healthy and even though it’s loaded with flowers, there is no
fruit on it anywhere. It is merely taking up space, water and sunlight. The
thought of cutting it down and throwing it into the trash is not such a
difficult decision after all.
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Gail;
-----I wonder how hastily made was Jesus’ decision to cut down the non-bearing fruit tree? Then again, hasty to “...a man who [can tell] me all that I ever did” (John 4:29) would not be exactly the same as hasty is to you or me. Earlier this summer Char was glowering at her tomato plants for the same reason that miffed you. So she griped to someone whose plants were always bursting with big, yummy tomatoes and was told to grab that plant by its stem and give it a good shaking like you would a brat by his collar. That shakes a lot of its pollen into the air, which will then settle onto the pistils of the flowers and start the fruiting process. I suppose Jesus could look into a fruitless tree and know whether its reproductive process was a mess, or whether it just needed a good shaking. I am thankful that He is willing to grab me by the collar and rattle my teeth; it’s a darn sight better than fire. And so it pays to never wander from fruitfulness more than a couple healthy teeth rattlings.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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