Luke 6:43-44 "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers...." [New International translation]
Summary
JESUS spoke and taught in parables. He used simple stories to illustrate a spiritual or moral point.
Parables cause one to use our "inner" nature. For example, parables generally evoke a visual picture "in our mind's eye." There is usually a story, with characters or familiar objects that we can visualize. Like snowflakes, no two visual pictures are the same. Each of us brings our own life experience to visualizing the parable story. Our past experience serves as a backdrop to what we "see" or "do not see" when we paint our mental pictures.
Second, there are usually "layers" to a parable. They cause the hearer to think and ask questions. Some of the questions a hearer might ask include the following: 1) Why did JESUS tell this particular parable? 2) What lesson or message is JESUS conveying with this story? What events or what conversation occurred before that prompted this story? 3) Is HE talking to me? 4) Is the parable a warning? 5) If it is a warning, what is the parable directing me to do? 6) Does what occurred after JESUS told the parable show that there was a "full meaning" of the lesson JESUS was teaching? 7) How often have I "missed the point?"
Third, parables often make hearers feel uncomfortable and exposed. They often cause the hearer to start to conduct an internal examination, trying to determine which "side" of the parable they fit---the "good side" or the "bad side." For example, in the above parable, the hearer may ask: 1) Am I bearing good fruit or bad fruit? 2) Am I an unproductive tree or a productive one? 3) Is my "fruit" the "right kind of fruit" or just thistles or thorns? 4) If I am not a good tree or bearing good fruit, what will happen to me? Will JESUS "chop" me down? Will I get "tossed" in "the fire" like wood kindle?
The impact of a parable may vary. Like a puzzle, some hearers may find their hearts, minds and souls fervently grappling with the parable, searching for its inner meaning, like a person struggling to solve a cross word puzzle, going over and over the clues in the mind. Some hears will just ignore the parable and continue on with life as if JESUS never said a thing. Others may be "convicted" and pray that the MASTER TEACHER show them the way, the truth and the light.
PEAR FRUIT
Pears rank second to apples as being the most popular fruit in the U.S. "A medium size pear contains about 103 calories and is a good source of health-promoting vitamin C and fiber." See, www.webmd.com Pears are also rich in vitamin K (a fat soluble vitamin). According to www.whfoods.com, pears are also a hypo-allergenic food, because they are less likely to produce an adverse physical reaction; thus, pears are often one of the first "safe" fruits introduced to infants. It is always a good idea to wash pears carefully to remove pesticide or bacterial residue. Even organic pears should be washed carefully. Most stores carry a variety of pears and there are a number of raw pear recipes on the internet. For example, consider this arugula and pears salad recipe at: http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/vegetable-green-salad-recipes-00412000076560/page2.html.
PARABLE OF THE PEAR TREE
The "Parable of the Pear Tree" does not appear in the Bible but it also conveys an important lesson. The story goes as follow:
A father wanted to teach his sons the lesson of not judging something or someone too quickly, and so he called them together and said "I have a task for you. I want you, my eldest son to go out into our fields and take a look at the pear tree and come back and tell me what your evaluation is of its condition."
So the eldest went out and saw the pear tree. But it was winter, and the son saw the tree on a harsh winter day and reported back and said to his father. "I see nothing of promise about the tree. It appears old, gnarled and has no blooms on it at all. I doubt it will sur-vive the winter."
Three months later the father sent the next eldest son out in the spring to evaluate the pear tree. The son came back saying "The tree is very beautiful, with white blooms, but it seems purely ornamental. It has no fruit, nor any sign of ever bearing any. I doubt it will be of much practical use to us."
Three months later the father sent the third out in the summer. The son went out to see the tree and came back reporting: "the tree seems to be growing and doing well, and it is full of leaves. But I could see some fruit, so I picked one and tasted it, but it was bitter, not fit for human consumption. I doubt it will prove of much use to us."
Finally three months later the father sent his youngest son out to see the tree once more. This time the tree was full of ripe beautiful golden and red pears. The son tried one and came back with the glowing report "Father we must come quickly for the harvest is upon the tree, and it is heavy laden and needs us to pick the pears for they are ripe and delicious now."
The father called his four sons back together, and said, "You see each of you have observed well the condition of a the tree at a particular season of the year, but your judgment of the tree was only partial, and made too quickly based on what you saw on only the one occasion. See to it that you never judge human beings this way. Never evaluate them too quickly, for it is unfair and unwise. Indeed all living things should only be evaluated over the course of time and after repeated careful inspection, for who knows-- the ugliest and most unproductive of living things might some day turn into the most beautiful and fruitful."
Posted by Ben Witherington.
Food For Thought and Prayer
Today, this week or in the days ahead, we will encounter many people (e.g., family, friends, supervisors, subordinates, acquaintances, co-workers, strangers, etc.). Like the sons in the parable of the pear tree, we will encounter all these people in their various "seasons." Others will encounter each of us in "our season(s)" as well. Some people may even experience all of our seasons during the course of a single day. Let us pray that we not judge others quickly or too harshly nor that others judge us too harshly when we are "off season." Instead, let us pray that we all strive for greater understanding and love for ourselves and for others. Let us give up quick judgments and leave the final outcome to GOD.
Have a prayerful, thoughtful and fruitful raw foods day and BE BLESSED!
