Hi First Presbyterian,
I have to admit that Fall is my favorite season of the year. I enjoy getting out my long pants and my flannel shirts. We planted a sunset maple tree in our front yard in the Spring, and I can’t wait until its leaves turn bright red. I’m looking forward to raking our fallen leaves and watching my kids jump into them. However, one of my favorite things to do during this time of year is pick apples. For many years now, my family has been going to Lynoaken Farms in Medina. They have lots of our favorite kinds of apples as well as some heritage varieties that date back hundreds of years. Our house smelled like apples and cinnamon this week as Laura boiled down a couple bushels of apples into applesauce.
As I’ve been eating those apples recently, I’ve thought about a well-known saying about apples: “You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the number of apples in a seed.” In other words, there may only be nine seeds inside an apple, but one seed may grow an apple tree, which, over the course of its lifetime, may produce thousands of apples.
Jesus said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade” (Mark 4:30-32).
I think the point Jesus is making about the kingdom of God in that parable is that its nature is to grow. The kingdom of God is meant to grow. Some people may hear this parable and jump to the conclusion: Jesus says that the kingdom of God is mean to grow numerically. In other words, Jesus cares about making more disciples and growing the number of people in our churches. I’m not sure that’s what Jesus actually means here. Think about the number of times Jesus said to people who were considering becoming his followers things like: Are you sure you want to follow me? Are you sure you understand the cost of following me? Are you ready to put your commitment to me before everything else in your life? When Jesus talks about the growth of the kingdom of God, I think he’s talking about the growth of the kingdom internally. It is the nature of the kingdom of God to grow inside of us! In other words, being a follower of Christ is a journey that entails learning, trying, failing, discovering self, discovering God, and growing.
We are like an apple seed – the potential to grow and produce fruit is essentially limitless. Jesus wants to help us trust God more, love God more, love each other more, and use the gifts God has given us more. 2 Timothy 1:6 reminds that sometimes we need to “stir up the gift of God that is within us.” God’s gift is already in us, we just need to bring it to life. You may not feel like there is a gift within you (i.e., evidence of God’s kingdom in you), but it may be like an apple seed. It may be small but with limitless potential. Ask God to help you nurture that seed. Ask God to help you stir up your gift. Frederick Buechner said that when it comes to discerning where God is calling us, it is often where “our deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” What passion has God given you – no matter who you are! – that the world really needs? Pay attention to what you learn in answering that question, and go out to grow an apple tree!
Peace to you,
Pastor Neff