Dangling Fruit

"(Jesus) also said, 'This is what the kingdom of God is like.

 A man scatters seed on the ground. 

Night and day,

whether he sleeps or gets up,

the seed sprouts and grows,

though he does not know how. 

All by itself the soil produces grain—

first the stalk,

then the head,

then the full kernel in the head. 

As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it,

because the harvest has come.'”

Mark 4:26-29

Carefully, I prepared the soil, working it with my hoe, incorporating the rich compost into the clay and sand.  Soon the earth became fine and loamy, ready to receive the seed.  As I dropped the seeds into the ground, carefully patting down the soil, I think of all the possible scenarios for each seed.  A bird could pluck it from the garden as a necessary morsel of nourishment, or it could be shielded from the needed amount of water, thus preventing the sprouting process, or it could push through the soil bed and grow into a fruit-giving plant.

The growth of a seed is a mystery.  No man can replicate the process, or force the progression of the procedure.  It happens all as a result of God's sovereign work, in His time and by His hand.  There is nothing I can do to speed it along, and I marvel at the miracle of a tiny seed turning into a meandering vine of watermelon, or a looming stalk of corn. 

The transformation of an ordinary soul into an extraordinary recipient of eternal life through simple faith in Christ as their Savior is a parallel mystery.  It is not accomplished through the labor of any man, but as a result of God's sovereign work, in His time and by His hand.

This truth should shape the way I approach non-believers.  It is of no work of my own that another come to Christ.  Consequently, my role as a farmer for God's Kingdom is limited. 

Scatter Seed 

During the growing season, a farmer's primary job is to plant the seeds.  He makes sure the conditions of the soil are favorable for growth, then scatters the kernels.  After that, his only responsibility is to maintain moisture levels and monitor weed growth. 

Likewise, I am free to lovingly share the truth with those God has placed around me, thus planting the seed.  I am not responsible for how the message is received any more than a farmer can prevent a bird from swiping the seed from the ground or ensure that every single seed will receive enough water and sprout.  Only God can change a heart and I must leave the mystery of growth in His hands. 

As a follower of Christ, I am called to scatter the seed of the gospel.

Harvest

The next busy time for a farmer is during the harvest when all the fruits of the plants that have grown throughout the season are gathered. 

I have heard it said that harvest time is simply a matter of plucking dangling fruit.  God has already accomplished the work of preparing the heart, growing the seed of the gospel in that heart, showing each one their sin and thus illuminating their need for Jesus.  All that is left for the worker to do is reap the harvest. 

CS Lewis, one of the great Christian intellectuals and writers of our time, spent his young adult years as an atheist.  But God was drawing Him to Himself through his readings and several friends who planted the seed of the gospel.  On a bus ride soon thereafter, he said he entered the bus as an atheist, and disembarked as a believer in the existence of God. God was working on his heart. 

In a series of steps, CS Lewis then was drawn irresistibly to Christ.  He finally relented and called on Christ as His Lord and Savior on September 22, 1931.  Through no work of his own or any man, he was courted by a God who loved him and had created him for relationship with Himself. 

For a man or woman who has been wooed by God, it is a simple task to carry out the final step of plucking the dangling fruit.

As a follower of Christ, I am called to be available to guide those God has cultivated into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Production

A farmer plays no role in the actual formation of an ear of corn, or a tomato, or a watermelon.  He can only hope and pray.  

It is the same with those around us who are chosen to belong to Jesus.  Either God is working in their heart, or He has hardened their heart.  I can do nothing to force the seed of the Good News of Jesus to grow and produce fruit.  It can only happen as a result of God's mysterious work in their heart.  

Thinking about my own conversion, I sensed a definite attraction to God from an early age.  When later presented with the Gospel at a Billy Graham Crusade, I could not stop myself from going forward, as if propelled by an unseen force.  I was drawn like the psalmist described in Psalm 42:1-2.  "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.   When can I go and meet with God?"

When I heard how to meet God, through faith in Jesus Christ, I eagerly made my way to the spring of living water, drinking from it's goodness.

As a follower of Christ, it is not my responsibility to draw people to Christ.  That is  a part of God's inexplicable work.

The mystery of the transformation of a seed into a beautiful flower or fruitful plant is one of life's greatest unknowns.  But even Tagore, a gifted Indian poet and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature understood what a mystery we witness. 

"No, it is not yours to open buds into blossom. . .

He who can open the bud does it so simply. . .

At His breath the flower spreads its wings and flutters in the wind. 

Colors flash out like a heart longing,

the perfume betrays a sweet secret. 

He who can open the bud does it so simply."

God opens the bud of understanding and faith.  We simply scatter the seed and harvest the fruit.  God does the rest.

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will let God do His work in the hearts of those around me, watching for the dangling fruit to ripen.

How do I try to force fruit to form, thus denying the sovereign work of God in drawing someone to Himself?

How will this truth change the way I approach others for Christ?  Does it relieve the pressure I have placed upon myself to win people to Christ?