Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Bigger and Better
* Scripture: Jesus said, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first." (Matt. 19:30)

Bigger is better! At least in the realm of fruits and vegetables. Everybody wants the prize-winner, the largest variety possible. The seed catalogues cash in on this tendency by showing pictures of a child with a giant pumpkin, so big that she can sit upon it. Maybe it is the dinner-plate sized dahlia that catches the eye of the flower aficionado. The most widely sought treasure of bigness, though, is probably the tomato.
I have read that the tomato is possibly the most widely grown of a things garden. It may be the only edible produce in the garden, tucked into a small bed, staked and trained to take up the least space possible. But BIG! Tomatoes have to be big. Large enough that one slice fills a sandwich. In fact, some of the most popular varieties have big in the name - Big Boy, or even Better Boy.
Big isn't everything, though. The smallest among the tomato family is a tough little rascal, a real survivor. Year after year, I find volunteer cherry tomatoes coming up where they grew the previous year. The seeds endure freezing winter temperatures and otherwise harsh treatment to grow and prosper.
The rich young man probably enjoyed all that society had to offer, and sought to cap it by obtaining eternal life. How had he prepared? He tells Jesus that he had kept all the commandments. Commendable, Jesus said, but sell all that you have, and give to the poor. "Come, follow me." (Mt. 19:21b)
If the rich, who have seemingly been rewarded monetarily as a result of their righteousness, can't make it into heaven, who can be saved?
There are several instances in the New Testament records where disciples have their eyes and hopes set on the higher, more prominent places on the ladder of success.
Peter, who reminds Jesus of the sacrifices the disciples have made, giving up all to follow Him, questions the reward they shall have for this work. Kings and rulers typically reward their closest associates and supporters with well-placed positions and honor.
Honor and prestige is not to be the goal of working for God. That may come, Jesus said, but the least of these shall many times be first, and the sure-fire prize winner shall be the last. The humble, the ones willing to be a servant to all, and not the seekers for the grand and glorious, shall be most precious in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus follows by teaching the Parable of the Laborers in the vineyard (Mt. 20) and concludes by again sharing that the last shall be first; "Many are called, but few chosen."
Sometimes it is better to be a cherry tomato rather than a Big Boy.
July 9, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* The Better Part
* Scripture: Gideon said, “ Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?” Judges 8:2b, NKJV

Anyone who has had to deal with more than one child at mealtime has likely had to mediate the “She got more than me!” battle. Isn’t it amazing how the other piece of pie, the slab of cake, always looks bigger on the other plate. Or, as the farmer said to his cow as she leaned over the fence, “The grass is always greener on the other side, isn’t it?”
Sadly, it is not just children and livestock that want their full share, and maybe just a little bit more. Groups, clans, even nations, are subject to this malady. At the least, there is grumbling and ill will; at the worst, envy, jealousy, and anger.
Let’s take a look at just one of many examples found in the Bible.
If you have been around for awhile, you have heard the story of Gideon in the Book of Judges. How God called him to save Israel from the Midianites, the tests that eliminated all but three-hundred men, and the night time raid that sent the Midianite army, “as numerous as locusts” (Judges 7:12), fleeing in disorder. Oh, how we thrill at the hearing of the God-inspired selection of these few men, of how their torches and trumpets terrified the enemy so much that they struck out against even their own brethren with their swords. (7:22)
Most of the sermons that I have heard end there with the enemy fleeing before Gideon’s “army.” But that is not the end of the battle, nor the tie-in that I must make with my lead-in about squabbling over one’s portion.
Follow up by reading Judges 7:24, 25. Gideon sent word to the men of the tribe of Ephraim AFTER the Midianite’s camp was abandoned, instructing them to seize the fleeing Midianites as they tried to cross back over the Jordan River. This they did, and captured two Midianite princes in the process. (Think sacking the quarterback in football!) Were the Ephraimites happy? No way! They likely missed out on looting the Midianite camp - the old “You got something that we didn’t!” complaint. They were angry!
The key to understanding Gideon’s reply lies in the word ‘gleaning.’ God made provision for the welfare of the poor by instructing the landowners to leave the corners of their fields unharvested, and to leave some of the fruit in the orchards and vineyards. The people who gathered those set-aside crops were called “gleaners.”
Gideon’s father was Joash, the Abiezrite. Thus, the Ephraimites ‘gleaned’ a greater honor than did Gideon’s army.
“You’ve got the better part!”
Think about it.
September 18, 2005