April 27, 2010
John 15
Pastor Luke Lang
At this time of year, I start thinking about home-grown tomatoes. I love them.
When I was growing up, my Dad was a serious gardener. Tomatoes were his favorite things to plant and grow. He would carefully till the rocky Oklahoma soil, then put out the tomato cages and plants. He carefully nurtured the plants – weeding, pruning and watering - literally spending hours each night making sure that he had a healthy garden. Then FINALLY, the day would come and there would be fresh, perfectly ripe tomatoes sliced up on the dinner table! You could put a little sugar on them and eat them with a fork or put a little mayonnaise on white bread and enjoy a tomato sandwich. Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit my dad’s green thumb. Everything that I’ve ever try to grow has died an ugly death.
In John 15, we learn that our Heavenly Father is the Master Gardener! He is continually about the business of pruning and purifying us so that we will produce. He carefully tills the soil of our soul and nurtures us - trimming, pruning and cutting back. It is rarely fun or comfortable, but it’s always for our good because He knows what we need. He does His part, but we also have a part to play. The quality or productivity of our lives depends on ONE thing. It’s not our skill, talent, looks or luck. It depends on our relationship with Jesus! As long as we stay connected to Him, we produce fruit. The greater the connection, the greater the fruit.
What is your fruit factor? What is your life producing?
It’s something to think about as I fix myself a tomato sandwich.
Did you know that – right after high school – Pastor Luke considered applying to clown college?
