Matthew 7:16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? [Revised Standard translation]
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 lesson.
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 visualizing the parable. Our past experiences serve as a backdrop to what we “see” or “do not see.” One person’s “fruit” tree may be different from another’s; one may “see” Concord grapes while another may envision green ones. What each of us brings to the parable, in terms of our “physical” and “spiritual” experiences, will vary as well.
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 parable? 2) What lesson or message is JESUS conveying with this story? 3) Is HE talking to me or is HE talking to someone else? 4) Is HE talking about me or someone else? 5) Is the parable a warning? 6) To who is the warning directed? 7) What is the warning? 8) What is the solution? 9) What does JESUS want me to do? 10) What do I need to do or stop doing to avoid the bad fate in the parable? 11) Did I really get the “full meaning” of the lesson JESUS wants me to learn?
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? 4) What spiritual implications does this parable have for me?
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 crossword puzzle, going over and over the clues in the mind. Some hearers will just ignore the parable and continue on with life as if JESUS never said anything. Others may be “convicted” and pray that the MASTER TEACHER shows them the way, the truth and the light.
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 something like this:
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 survive 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 son 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 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 but the ugliest and most unproductive of living things might someday turn into the most beautiful and fruitful."
Wisdom is Gender Neutral.
Another version of this parable references a father and his four daughters, lovely reminding them at the end that you can’t judge a tree, or a person, by only one season. Other versions could easily reference a mother teaching her four sons or four daughters the same life lesson. If you have children or wish to pass on the wisdom of this parable, you decide which gender to use.
Pear Season
Pears are one of the healthiest of fruits. One medium pear weighing approximately 178 grams contains:
- 101 calories
- 0 g of fat
- 27 g of carbohydrate, including 17 g of sugar
- 1 g of protein
One medium pear contains a number of minerals including: calcium, iron, magnesium, Zinc and Phosphorus. The vitamin in pears include: Vitamin C, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B-12, Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Vitamin K.
See, USDA, National Nutrient Database.
Food For Thought and Prayer
Sometimes, we need to be kind to ourselves. Often we need to be kind to others.
Pray we learn to leave the judging to GOD.
Study the parables of JESUS. Pray for discernment.
Enjoy the various seasons of your life
And, BE BLESSED!
