August 28, 2024
During the morning prayer time at last Sunday's worship service Tom shared how much the fruit of our Garden Of Eatin' (especially the cherry tomatoes) was being appreciated at the Colchester Food Shelf. The picture above was taken just a couple of days later as another batch readied itself for harvest.
As I walked through the garden, however, I was struck by the number of plants whose fruit had already been harvested. And here is were I have to confess that I am not much of a gardener. And that was particularly evident as I walked through the garden. So many plants - and I had no idea what they were - this is why you do not want me to help with weeding the garden.
The single exception, however, was the cherry tomatoes above. I could tell what they were! Each tomato plant was laden with fruit in varying stages of ripeness as it approached the day it too would be harvested. The other plants were a mystery. And as I thought about that for a minute, it reminded me that there are parables all around us, just as it did way back when I wrote DeacoNote 2. Reminders of key Scriptural lessons!
I recognized the cherry tomato plants by their fruit..
Matthew 7: 15-20 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit will you recognize them."
And another from the book of Psalms,
Pslam 1: 1-3 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers.
And of course the "fruit" of being a disciple will be love, as Jesus instructed in ...
John 13: 34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Interestingly if we carry this analogy a little bit further, we can draw out a little more of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. There are at least three aspects of gardening successfully that also apply to our spiritual lives.
1. Being Rooted - as any good gardener will tell you, a fruitful plant needs to be rooted in good soil. Similarly, Psalm 1 above tells us that, as Christians, our faith must be rooted in the Scriptures (meditating on the law day and night, it tells us). And just as the plant will not last long if it is uprooted, so it is also true that our faith must remain rooted daily in God's Word. Almost two years ago, the Rev. Dale Edwards came and spoke to us regarding healthy churches. A key aspect being the exercise of classic Christian disciplines, one of which is Bible Study. Are you involved in a regular Bible study? If not, I would encourage you to follow our online video Bible study, with a new lesson posted every Tuesday.
2. Being Watered - even those of us who are not good gardeners know that plants need regular watering to remain healthy. As the Psalm again reminds us, Christians also needed regular "watering." In our case, the water of which we speak is, Living Water.
John 4: 14 (Jesus answered) " ... but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 7: 37-39 Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.
3. Being Fruitful - a healthy plant bears good fruit. Similarly, a healthy faith, rooted in the Word of God and nourished and sustained by the Spirit (Living Water) will produce good fruit.
John 15: 1-5 "I am the vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
Lastly, I offer a reminder of the purpose of this whole process:
John 15: 8 "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
Amen.
Please feel free to share this DeacoNote with a friend, or post a related thought in the Comments below.
Your Brother in Christ,
Warren
Warren J. Ayer, Jr.
Chairperson, Board of Deacons
United Church of Colchester
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