Have you ever had your own garden? They are hard work, but lots of fun. They yield ‘fruit’ that is usually much tastier than the store bought variety. This is especially true of tomatoes. I absolutely love ripe, homegrown tomatoes. I’ll eat the ones from the store if I have no choice, but can’t say I’m too fond of those.

Did you know that tomatoes are considered a fruit and not a vegetable? Well that ties in perfectly with what God has blessed me to share. This fruit has a lot to teach us.

My son Joey shared with me just the other day that he learned that tomatoes are picked off the vine when they are completely green, and then sprayed with carbon dioxide so that they’ll turn ‘red’. Well well…they obviously haven’t come up with anything to spray on them so that they don’t taste like cardboard! Store bought tomatoes are not ripe; they are taken off the vine well before their time. And because they were not ready to be picked, they are bland and sometimes even tasteless. They sometimes look like a tomato, but don’t really taste like one. It isn’t until they ripen that they are really worth eating. Then, they are bursting with flavor and are absolutely delicious!

I believe that many people enjoy growing vegetables in their garden, but not many realize that they are growing a fruit that literally points to the truth of God’s Word. All creation gives Him praise, so I guess this is no exception.

What happens to us when we abide with Jesus? He tells us in John 15: 4-5. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. “

When we are connected to the Source of Life, we are able to grow to our full potential. Often though, we abide with Jesus for a little while and then we stop. We have grown some, but are not yet ripe for what He has called us to...but we try nonetheless. When we disengage from the vine, we are really the same as a tomato that has so much potential to ‘taste great’ but is only bland at best. How can we show others who Christ really is if we have not been intimately attached to Him for extended periods of time? The truth is, try as we might, we just can’t.  It is not possible for us to reflect our Savior until we abide in Him; in the sun, and in the rain; during the day, and at night; when we are small and green, and when we are just beginning to see what we can become by His grace.

For Today: Friends, a homegrown tomato from a garden is the real deal. It looks different, smells different, feels different, and most certainly does what it was meant to do different: It tastes DELICIOUS. You and I too can be that sweet offering to our Lord as we live our lives. We can reflect Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control! (Gal 5: 22).This is what we can show the world. This is who the God of the Universe is…He is beautiful and nothing can compare to Him. Why do we so often allow others to see so much less than He really is?  I believe it is because we only give Him small portions of our time and of our heart.

Do you want others to ‘taste and see’ that the Lord is good?  I hope you said yes…I do too. The world needs to see the real Jesus shining through His own, and not anything less.