Apples overcome odds, become a blessing

As a boy, I remember an apple tree in our yard that produced the best tasting apples. I ate many of them as I grew up. However, I would never have eaten any, had my parents’ had their way.

They were not opposed to me eating apples. The tree was not supposed to exist.

Early in my parents’ marriage (so I was told) they disagreed regarding the placement of the apple tree. Apparently, its location was not acceptable to one of them, and instead of losing the argument, one cut the tree down to spite the other.

However, the tree had the last word in the conflict. A new shoot grew out of the stump, becoming the tree that produced apples I enjoyed.

A similar experience took place in the life of Israel. God initially established King David and his descendants to rule over Israel and ideally reach the world for God. Unfaithfulness toward God, and the invasion of foreign countries cut off David’s family tree as rulers. But God promised through Isaiah the prophet that out of this stump of David would grow a shoot that would become ruler over all. This figurative shoot was Jesus Christ who is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Like the apple tree, actions performed prior to our lifetime should have robbed us of the blessings God intended for us to enjoy. Yet despite the worst intentions of others, God, through Jesus, has provided for us today, the salvation He promised long ago.

Pastor Mark Holmes is an ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church and has served the Darrow Road Wesleyan Church since 1997.

Tags: community, church, religion