In Season
A few years ago I took a morning walk before breakfast. The grocery store seemed like a great place to stop and grab some. Swinging through the bakery, I picked up a fresh bagel. My feet carried me on to the produce area where I would find some fruit or veggie to complete the meal. Looking up, they caught my eye...apples.Nope. Not in the mood for an apple.So I walked to the other side of the row. Apples.The next row. Apples.Four full rows of apples before finding any variety. Then there was a small section for lemons, kiwis, limes, pomegranates, and a few other non-walk friendly fruits. Red delicious, granny smith, fuji, macintosh, braeburn, gala, and golden delicious apples, each in their own large bin covering four rows and beyond that...tangelos.I was not in the mood for an apple, yet it was becoming clear my choice may be "which apple". Asking a clerk about the lack of peaches, plums, and other fruits for which my soul was aching, he explained they just weren't in season. I would be forced to accept not the fruit I was looking for, but what was "in season". Still feeling the need for some fruit to round out the meal, I grabbed a golden delicious and went on my way.Sometimes I treat spiritual fruit the same way. Whether it is in the people in my congregation, my own spiritual growth, or circumstances around me, I look for fruit which is not on the trees. I am looking to see maturity growing in one area and it pops up in another and I am not satisfied. After all, my aim was to see a plum, and all I am getting is apples. Then I remember. I can plant. I can water. God gives growth. God is the master gardener deciding the fruit which will come from each tree.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.1 Corinthians 3:6-9 ESV
We are called to a different job than fruit choosing. We are called to serve. It occurred to me, plum farmers are still at work even when their produce is not in the bin. Even after the harvest, the pear growers are still laboring away. These apple farmers will be continuing to tend trees after the last apple falls, and long before the first blossoms rise again.In the same way, as a follower of Jesus, called to ministry (Which is all of us. Check Ephesians 4:14 if you are under the impression ministry is what the pastor does) you are not just responsible to be about the gardening business during the fruit bearing season. What happens during the in betweens is often the difference between a dried up tree with a few pieces of fruit, and a bountiful harvest. Paul gives this advice to Timothy:
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.2 Timothy 4:2 ESV
For Timothy, his work was to preach. He was to preach during all seasons, fruitful or barren. You and I have callings and gifts, and the same call is on us. In season or out of season.I have a confession. The apple was pretty good.