My Dad is an avid small gardener. He loves growing his own tomatoes, peppers, sometimes cucumbers, etc. We live in a major metro area in the suburbs but there’s a little patch of country garden on the side of the house that is well managed and taken care of. His pride and joy (and honestly best tasting) are the tomatoes.
He recently got some “wild Everglades tomato plants.” Yeah, a strain of tomatoes that started growing wild in the Florida Everglades and can produce fruit much later into the year, even after it starts staying above 80 degrees at night (which is when most normal tomato plants stop producing fruit). He said they look pretty ugly, more like a weed than a typical tomato plant. He was skeptical at first, but about a week ago he sent me this picture.
It produced lots of little cherry tomatoes that he said tasted great! He sent me this text along with the picture, “It’s about the fruit, not the plant.” He has this method of gardening that produces incredible tasting fruit; only water the plant if it is going to die. They don't need to be watered every day, only when they need it. It was only after he sent me that text that something clicked and I replied “Dad, that would make a great sermon illustration.” I was thinking of John 15 and how we only survive by staying connected to the Vine, Jesus Christ. But what is the purpose of staying connected to the vine, of being a part of this vine that is Christ and his church? It’s not for the vine to just grow and grow and grow (although that is definitely one purpose, it’s not the primary focus), the purpose of the vine is to produce fruit.
My point in drawing this out and explaining what clicked in my head is this: when you, as a Christian, feel like you aren’t getting the nutrients you need to grow lots and lots of fruit, maybe the Father is only watering you a little bit in order to produce fewer yet “better” fruit. Remember it is not about you, and how good you look, it’s about the fruit and the Vine first, then you.
