SCRIPTURE: Matthew 22:33
(TM)
If you grow a
healthy tree, you'll pick healthy fruit. If you grow a diseased tree, you'll
pick worm-eaten fruit. The fruit tells you about the tree.
STORY:
In the 13th
Century, Nicolo Polo (father of Marco Polo) was visiting the court of the
grandson of Ghengis Khan - Kublai Khan.
Kublai Khan was the Emperor of China
and he had never met Europeans before. He was delighted to meet this visitor
from Venice AND he was strongly impressed by the religious faith of this man;
therefore, he sent a letter back to Europe urging that some educated men be
dispatched to instruct his people in the teachings of Christianity.
But,
because of political upheaval and infighting that was taking place in Europe,
there was a long delay in anybody coming. In the end, only 2 representatives of
Christianity were sent and even they lost heart soon and turned back.
Because
of the failure of the church of that day, Kublai Khan turned instead to
Buddhism and that has been the predominant religion in the area from that day
to this.
OBSERVATION:
In one-way or another we are bearing fruit… some of it good…
some of it not so good. There are time when it becomes obvious what kind of
fruit is being born and then there are other times we never witness the results
of our labors.
Sowing in the
morning,
Sowing seeds of
kindness,
Sowing in the
noontide
And the dewy eve;
Waiting for the
harvest,
And the time of
reaping,
We shall come
rejoicing,
Bringing in the
sheaves.
Our responsibility is to sow the seeds, plant the healthy trees, to bear
witness to the truth that is in us. Our responsibility is to do all that we can
under any circumstances so that the results will be healthy fruit. It shouldn’t
be necessary to be there for the harvest.
We like results. We want to know. We get impatient when we don’t’ see
growth, change, new life… but, as my nephews learned the hard way, don’t pull
up the plant to see if something is growing or not. It can be hard to trust the
Lord for the outcome, but trust we might. Especially in the area of spiritual
development it just might take much longer than we would want or wish.
And, maybe, we just need to slow down and allow people to catch up. The
fruit will come … in time … God’s time … at God’s choosing … just plant the
seeds of faith and trust. That’s the hardest part.
PRAYER:
Help us to have a fruit bearing faith, trusting you for the
harvest.
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