Seeds and Trees

Apples are a common thing, you have heard the expressions: an apple a day keeps the doctor away, a bad apple rots them all.  Yet, what all apples have is a story, and each apple has seed, and each seed is an apple tree in the making.

As well each apple tree is different.  Some apple trees are strong and rooted firmly.  And, others are frail, dying ones.  And then, some apple trees try to grow like orange trees because they don't like being apple trees.  And yet, each apple tree produces different types of fruit where some are juicy, sour, soft or hard.  As well, how or if the seeds of these fruit get planted into new apple trees. 

By now, you may be wondering why exactly I am talking about apples and trees.  Well, as Christians we are kind of like like apple trees.  But, what kind of tree we become is based solely on how firmly rooted we are.

"⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

-Colossians 2: 6-7

And 

^"16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love..."

-Ephesians 3:16-17 

Yet, how many of us many of us are actually rooted in Christ?  Or, how many of us water what is already planted daily, weekly, or even monthly?  Or, even have good soil.  Yes, good soil. 

According to Matthew 13, there are type of soil where we can harvest our seeds: 

"³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. 

It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 

 ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  

⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

And depending on the type of soil, it affects how well the seeds of our apples trees grow.  In the parable of the sowerer, the first type of soil is soil that lands on the path where they can easilty be swept away by a bird or some other woodland creature.  Even though it sounds more cutesy, and Snow White deviated- these types of seeds we produce are basically useless. Refusing to grow after being shallowly planted.

The next type of seeds are those sown in rocks.  The point of this rooting process is that it may continue to grow- but it hits a rock bottom, it becomes raveled by something hard.  Thus, it drizzled and dies.

The third type of seed is one that is sown among thorns.  Similar to seeds in rocks by being among events that hurt it, stop it from growing.  But, this type is not dead.  It still has a chance of growing but can't until all of it thorns are deplucked, removed, completely gone.  Or, at least manageable to grow through.

Lastly, the best soil is the only kind of soil that can continue to harvest good fruit- is of course good soil.  Where the good soil is able to produce abundant amounts of fruit.

As well, the fruit we will grow with good soil is fruit of the Holy Spirit!  :)

^"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

-Galations 5: 22-25 

Think about the fruit you produce or where your seeds are,  are your seeds lost on a path, rocks, or in thorns?  Or, are they on good soil ready for harvesting?

Have a blessed day,

<3 KM

(Inspired by a message from Church and Bible time with a friend :) )