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/

* Rich or Poor?
* Scripture: Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . Matthew 6:19-20a, NKJV.

Some of the most interesting words in the English language are spelled with only four letters. The words love and hate convey emotion. Rich and poor typically defines wealth or the absense thereof, but someone could also be in poor health, or rich in blessings.
What do you have? What do you need? If you could have anything you wish, what would you want? Now there are some four letter words to think about!
People who consider themselves to be rich in blessings are probably very much aware of what they have. Wealth and health are nice, but are they the ultimate blessings? Let's get down to the nitty-gritty about things we have, what we truly need, and stuff we want.
Consider the bottom line: Put to the test, what would you, what could you be willing to part with? I have read many commentaries about survivors of disasters stating that they have lost all wordly goods but rejoice that they still have their lives. Survivors count blessings!
Likewise, some who suffer a debilitating accident or illness live to the fullest of their ability. Some, but not all. Who among us are the survivors, and who will sink and go under? We truly do not know until put to the test.
Here are some tests you can try that may help you focus on what you have by giving up some physical attribute for a period of time.
Vision is a blessing, but not all are so endowed. Try doing familiar things with your eyes closed. Can you eat an entire meal, for example, without opening those eyes even once? Take a pair of old or cheap eyeglasses, and mark a black dot in the center of each lens to simulate macular degeneration. Some people have tunnel vision, so curl your fingers to your thumbs, and hold your hands in front of your face like a pair of binoculars. Caution: walking around during these simulations could be hazardous!
Walking. Oh, yes! Plan to spend some time in a wheelchair, using a walker or hobbling about on crutches.
Try doing the simplest of tasks - like buttoning a button or writing - without using your thumb, or while wearing mittens.
Get the picture? If you really, really had to, what could you part with and still be a blessing-counting survivor?
Do you count a loving relationship among your blessings? Someone with whom you can share your blessings, joys and sorrows? Unmeasurable riches!
Now think about the difference between things that you really, truly need, and stuff that you only wish you had!

Count your blessings,
Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings,
See what God hath done. - Oatman
June 25, 2006

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

Scripture: Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul.” Mark 8:36, NKJV

Baseball catcher Yogi Berra is reputed to have said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Well, I suppose one could just sit there, in a state of stultification, or turn around and go back. Chances are, though, one fork or the other will be taken. Choices, decisions, alternatives. If this, then - What? What will the answer be?
John Greenleaf Whittier brought two people to such a fork in the road in his poem, “Maud Muller.” Maud was a farm girl, “Of simple beauty and rustic health,”raking hay in the meadow on a summer’s day, when a Judge stopped his horse to rest in the shade of a tree, and asked the maid for a drink of water. While he tarried, they:
“talked of the haying, and wondered whether
The cloud in the west would bring foul weather.”

When he at last rode away, Maud’s thoughts wandered to what it would be like that she the Judge’s bride might be.

“He would dress me up in silks so fine. . . ”

The Judge looked back at Maud and considered her pastoral world - the

“low of cattle and song of birds,
And health and quiet and loving words.
But he thought of his sisters, proud and cold,
And his mother, vain of her rank and gold.
So, closing his heart, the Judge rode on,
And Maud was left in the field alone.“

The years pass, and their roads diverge:

“He wedded a wife of richest dower,
Who lived for fashion, as he for power . . . .”

“She wedded a man unlearned and poor,
And many children played round her door.”

Often over the years each thought back to that summer day:

“In the shade of the apple-tree again
She saw a rider draw his rein;
And, gazing down with timid grace,
She felt his pleased eyes read her face.”

while he wished to be

“Free as when I rode that day,
Where the barefoot maiden raked her hay.”

Oh! For the fork in the road not taken.
Choices, decisions, alternatives.

“Alas for maiden, alas for Judge,
For rich repiner and household drudge!
God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall.”

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: `It might have been!`”

As Jesus observed, many take the fork that promises the “riches” of the the world, only to find that it leads to a soul lost for eternity. Too late, too late, one can then only look back and sigh, “It might have been.”
May 8, 2005

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

Scripture: Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." Matthew 19:21-22, NKJV

We are counseled, (and probably have counseled) to “Let go, and let God.” It’s hard, very hard in practice. It’s just not in our common nature to let go of things, including problems that God could handle for us. We refuse to change our habits, even if our well-being is at stake. Something has to grab us, and shake us, until reality sets in.
Since we search for examples to inspire us, I thought maybe this fable from India, “The Farmer and the Money Lender,” might give you something to think about.
The story concerns a poor farmer, who, having lost everything to a money lender, sought the secret to becoming rich. He set out on his quest with three griddlecakes to last him on his journey. A Brahman and a Yogi accepted his offering of a griddlecake, and gave nothing in return. (Compare to the religious men in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:31-32.)
He shared his last cake with a poor man, who gave him a magic conch shell in response to his kindness, with the secret of how to use it to have wishes filled.
The money lender quickly surmised that the farmer’s good fortune was related to the conch shell, so he stole it. He had the shell, but found he lacked the secret of how to blow the horn to gain his wishes. If the money lender kept it, neither would benefit, so he offered the farmer a deal; he would return the magic shell to the farmer, with the agreement that whatever the farmer got from it, the money lender would get double.
This arrangement went on for a time, and it preyed upon the farmer’s mind that the money lender always got double. Then, during a very dry season, the farmer wished for a water well, and, lo! there was the well - but the money lender had two new water wells! The farmer brooded and brooded over this, until he had an idea. He blew the conch shell, and wished to be blind in one eye. In a twinkling, the money lender was blind in both of his eyes, and in trying to steer his way between the two wells, fell into one and was drowned. So that is how the farmer got the better of the money lender - but only by losing one of his eyes.
Jesus reminds us that we have to give up some things in order to gain other things, more important things, like eternal life. He also counseled,”If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) Since we are prone to never let go of one thing until we have a firm grip on something else (which may be good advice for daredevil wing walkers) we cling to what we have, rather than let go and step out in faith for the heavenly walk.
This week, think about what you would be willing to give up to assure eternal life.
March 13, 2005