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THE FRUIT OF ONE’S LABOR

5/14/2022

The Bible tells us that, after having raised his family, built an ark, gathered the world’s animals, and survived the flood, Noah settled down in his old age and planted himself a vineyard. In like fashion, I have now been busy in my semi-retirement doing what I was always too busy, yet always longing, to do: tilling the soil.

Now, to be clear, I have no intentions of either going into the wine-making business or getting plastered with the fruits of my labor, as did Noah. But I have now planted myself some muscadine and scuppernong vines. In my childhood, the former grew wild all along the dirt road on which we lived. And my uncle Roy had a grape arbor absolutely loaded with the latter up at his house. Needless to say, I loved visiting him when they were in season.

I have also now planted an orchard with just about every variety of fruit that will grow in agricultural zone seven, in which my wife and I live. These include several varieties of apples, peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, kiwis, cherries, quinces, crabapples, figs, and pomegranates. When June rolls around, I hope to add some blackberry vines to the lot as well.

Thanks to the efforts of my grandparents (both paternal and maternal), along with those of my various uncles and aunts, at one time or another, I crossed paths with most of these fruit species in my childhood. These days, my theory is that I owe it to my seven grandsons to give them the same memories. After all, eating one’s belly full of apples to the point of nausea as a child is a rite of passage – one I went through and one I intend to see them go through as well!

For this reason, it was a particular joy for me to be assisted by several of my grandsons as I planted the last of these trees this very evening.* Should the Lord tarry His coming, and assuming everything unfolds according to the usual pattern of nature, there will surely come a day when I will be in Heaven and my grandsons will literally be enjoying the fruits of my labor. When it does, the mere knowledge of this fact will very likely only add to my eternal joy!

Besides, when that day comes, I will be consuming fruit of another kind. As the New Testament Book of Revelation tells us (in chapter 22, verses 1-2):

“Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

In short, while my grandsons are enjoying the fruits of my labor here on earth, I plan to be enjoying the fruits of Christ’s labor up in Heaven! In due time, of course, I trust they will join me. And I trust the same for you.

*NOTE: Getting my orchard planted has taken quite some time. But at least I have finally met my goals. See my earlier blog posts titled “ALL IN ONE” dated 10/11/2021 and “BEARING FRUIT” dated 03/03/2022.

SCRIPTURES:

https://biblehub.com/bsb/genesis/9.htm;

https://biblehub.com/bsb/revelation/22.htm.

HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW…

5/10/2022

What do a skunk, an opossum, and a groundhog all have in common? Apparently, none of them can successfully duplicate the feat of the humble chicken by merely crossing the road successfully!

While out walking one morning late last week, I first came upon a flock of buzzards busily consuming the earthly remains of a dead skunk. It was obvious that the hapless creature had met his demise under the wheel of some automobile the night before. By the time I arrived on the scene, little was left of this poor animal; and I mused on his unfortunate fate as I walked along.

Barely a half of a mile later on in my journey, I came upon the remains of an opossum who had clearly suffered a similar fate the previous evening. Its poor carcass had been virtually turned inside out; although I do not know if this had been caused by the force with which it had been hit or by some scavenging animal in the meantime. I puzzled over this too as I kept on walking.

Shortly thereafter, I crested the small ridge where I had repeatedly seen a groundhog as of late. His habit was to occupy the low point in the road, were he easily passed back and forth using a small culvert underneath the road designed for the runoff of rain water into a nearby creek.

As I topped the little hill, I was saddened to see that, for whatever reason, the poor little fellow had apparently chosen to attempt an aboveground crossing of the road just as some other automobile had passed by in the wee hours of the early morning. While he was clearly dead, he had not been that way for long.

Perhaps it was because I had encountered this last animal so often before, and therefore felt as if I had begun to develop some sort of rapport with him, that his death struck me more significantly than had the death of either of the previous two animals. I was truly sad.

I walked on down to the lake before setting out on my return trip home. In the thirty or so minutes of time this took me, the vultures managed to find the downed groundhog. By the time I got back to the spot, they had not only been disemboweled him, but had also literally dismembered him as well. Nor were they happy as they retreated to the trees above, impatiently awaiting my passing before they could resume their repast.

Now, at this point, reading all of this may well have left you disturbed or even disgusted. But I have only related what I encountered that morning, along with the impact it all had on me at the time. Of course, if you have stayed with me this long, then I hope you will read a little further and reflect on what I eventually concluded from the morning’s events.

While I like to hunt and fish, I am no sadist. Animals are sentient creatures that live out their lives, and in so doing, fulfill the purpose for which God created them. It is always somewhat sad, therefore, to see one of them die prematurely in an accidental encounter with an automobile. What is more, this is only magnified when it happens three times in one night, especially when that all happens on the same short stretch of road.

Of course, whether you are troubled by any of this or not, it does, at the very least, speak to how fleeting life is. Twelve hours before my morning walk, three of God’s creatures walked this earth. By twelve hours after my morning walk, each no longer did. If that is not a sobering reminder of the brevity of life, then I do not know what is.

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. For this reason, it behooves each of us to make the utmost of each and every day!

Perhaps this is akin to what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he told the Ephesians (in chapter 5, verses 15- 16 of his New Testament Epistle addressed to them) to… “pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

It bears repeating here how the Amplified Version translates these verses:

“Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.”

How right Paul was! What is more, how right we will each be to follow his admonition! Given that the world is full of evil, and that we do not know what tomorrow holds, it behooves each of us to recognize this and to take advantage of every opportunity, living life to the full as we exult in each single moment of God-given life!

One day, my time on earth will come to an end. Yours will too. Until then, make we each live life to the full!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://biblehub.com/ephesians/5-16.htm;

https://biblehub.com/amp/ephesians/5.htm.

A REFLECTION OF GOD’S LOVE

5/6/2022

It has been said that there is no greater illustration in this world of the love God has for us than that of the love a mother has for her children. Given that assertion, with which I happen to agree, I thought I would share the following piece for Mother’s Day weekend. It is titled “THE SELF-GIVING MOTHER”, and reads as follows…

About 6:00 A.M. on a Wednesday morning, James Lawson of Running Springs, California (in the San Bernardino Mountains) left home to apply for a job. About an hour later, his thirty-six-year-old wife Patsy left for her fifth grade teaching job down the mountain in Riverside - accompanied by her two children, five-year-old Susan and two-year-old Gerald - to be dropped off at the baby-sitter’s.

Unfortunately, they never got that far. Eight and a half hours later, the man found his wife and daughter dead in their wrecked car, upside down in a cold mountain stream. His two-year-old son was just barely alive in the forty-eight-degree water. But in that death, the character of a mother was revealed in a most dramatic and heart-rending way.

For when the father scrambled down the cliff to what he was sure were the cries of his dying wife, he found her locked in death, holding her little boy’s head just above water in the submerged car.

For eight and a half hours, Patsy Lawson had held her beloved toddler afloat, and had finally died, her body almost frozen in death in that position of self-giving love, holding her baby up to breathe. She died that another might live. That’s the essence of a mother’s love.

Indeed it is! And as such, it is a reflection of the self-giving and sacrificial love that our God has for us! For He, too, gave His life in order that we might live!

This mother’s Day, I am thankful for a mother who loved me enough to sacrifice on my behalf. While she was never actually called upon to lay down her life for me, she did sacrifice in so many ways that I might be the better for it.

As I write this, she is now in Heaven. I know she is there because trust she placed her trust in Jesus Christ, Who did lay down His life, for her, and for me, and for all people in all times and all places. And like her, all who will receive Him as personal Lord and Savior will enjoy their eternal reward in that wonderful place as well.

STORY SOURCE: James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 1988, p. 375.

A HAIR-ROWING EXPERIENCE!

5/2/2022

The peace was shattered at approximately 5:17 pm this afternoon. I had just returned from having gone out walking; and discovered that my daughter had come over with her three small sons. These three were then joined by a fourth grandson who had come over from my son’s house next door.

I had just set about hurriedly completing a project or two in order that I could go spend time with them when I heard one of them begin to sound off. Soon enough, he was crying to beat the band!

I did not know which one it was, as he was somewhere on the other side of the house; but with each passing moment, the fit he was pitching grew louder and louder. I sensed something must be wrong. However, from the sound of things, the cries he was emitting were more akin to anger than to either pain or fear.

I also knew that our daughter was with them; and thus, if something was seriously wrong, we would know it soon enough. Nevertheless, as the noise was not abating, my wife, who was with me at the time, decided that she needed to go investigate.

After another few minutes, just as I was finishing up my projects, the crying finally ceased. It was then that I met my wife making her way back around the house and grinning from ear to ear.

“Is everything okay?” I asked. “It is now!” she replied, laughing out loud. “What was wrong?” I inquired. “It wasn’t any of the four grandsons in our yard. It was the smallest one next door. You’ll be happy to know that your youngest grandson just got his first ever haircut!”

I have to confess that I got tickled! I thought about all those times as a small lad when my dad took me to Ol’ Man Charlie Boyd for a haircut. I remembered how the latter would put me up in the barber chair and place a cloak over me before he turned on those horrendous clippers. To this day, I can recall how he would grab my chin and hold it in a vice-like grip in order to keep my little head still as he sheared off my curly locks.

I also remember the hum of those dreaded clippers and the cold feeling they had as he ran them back and forth over my head. I’m sure the whole process only took a few minutes; but to me at the time, it seemed like an eternity. I do not recall if I protested or not. But I do know that it was never an enjoyable experience; and I dreaded it as I did few other recurring rituals in life.

After I discovered what my youngest grandson had gone through, I went to check on him. I found him sitting at the supper table happily engaged in the consumption of an assortment of baby foods. By that time, the earlier ordeal, as terrible as it had been, had clearly passed; and he had moved on to more familiar and enjoyable activities.

At just one year of age, I do not know if he was fully aware of what all he had just endured or not. But for all his trouble, he was none the worse for the wear! As it was, I spent a few moments interacting with him, watching his newly shorn head continuously bob about as he grinned and even chuckled while I picked at him. When I left, he was all smiles as he headed off in the arms of his mother for the familiar confines of the bathtub and an enjoyable nightly ritual.

As I made my way back home, I could not help but think of what the writer of the New Testament Book of Hebrews (in chapter 12, verses 10-11) was moved to pen so long ago…

“Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.”

It was my grown son who, along with his wife, gave their son (and my grandson) his first ever haircut this afternoon. Needless to say, the whole process was more than a tad painful for the little tyke. But it was ultimately beneficial for him as well! His father had only put him through the whole ordeal for his own good.

Indeed, decades before, I had done the very same thing for his father (and my son), when he was that age, just as my own father had done for me even earlier.

In each case, the truth of Scripture was born out as an earthly father disciplined his son for a short period of time in order to produce something good and positive in his life. What is more, in each case, one can see a reflection of how our Heavenly Father deals with us.

You see, in His divine love for us, our God wants what is best for us. For this reason, from time to time, He disciplines us by putting us through some unpleasant experience. But in the end, it invariably works out for our good. We come away from the experience none the worse for wear. Better yet, we come away improved in some fashion. We then experience some harvest of either righteousness and/or peace as a result!

What about you? Are you currently going through some trial that seems difficult at best or terrible at worst? Then remember the words of the Apostle James, who was moved by the Holy Spirit (in chapter 1, verses 2-4 of his eponymous New Testament Letter) to write:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

In my esteemed opinion, my little grandson is even more handsome now than he was at about 5:16 pm this afternoon! This is all because he underwent a somewhat unpleasant ordeal in the meantime.

In a similar fashion, no matter what sort of harrowing experience I may personally wind up having to face tomorrow, I pray that, at the end of the day, I will merely wind up looking a little more pleasing in the eyes of my Heavenly Father as a result!

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:

https://www.biblehub.com/hebrews/12-11.htm;

https://biblehub.com/niv/james/1.htm.

THE FRUIT OF ONE’S LABOR

HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW…

A REFLECTION OF GOD’S LOVE

A HAIR-ROWING EXPERIENCE!

Cleo E. Jackson, III

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