The other day I was eating an apple. It was an ordinary apple. Just as red as any other I had eaten at other times. Maybe a stain of green in one corner.
An apple is an interesting fruit. It tastes delicious, it’s quite pleasing to look at, and it grows in many temperate climates. Its blossoms are quite beautiful in the warm spring afternoons.
I think, however, that the most remarkable attribute of the apple is its seeds. Within these seeds is a remarkable phenomenon. If you cut one open, it reveals nothing but fibre. But keep it unscathed, bury it in rich soil, give it some warmth, light, and water, and those little fibres become a tree.
Perhaps many times we are like an apple. We may be beautiful to look at. We may be able to “bloom where we stand,” no matter the trials we are given. But within us is the potential to be more, and to give to others.
Oftentimes, we may see an apple on a particular tree that seems out of place. It may look too green compared to the others. It may have too many wrinkles. It may have a soft, fragile skin. But within it is still the seed to grow, to give to others. If only that seed is discovered and nourished.
We may even know people who have similar qualities. They may be young. They may be old. They may be new in the gospel. They may be sensitive to criticism or rebuke from others. Yet if we are able to harvest their seed and nourish it, we can help them grow and then give of themselves to others.
Perhaps we as humans have a bit of a difficult time recognising the importance of our roles in helping others grow to their potential. Yet God knows. And He does all possible to help us to know.
It has been said that when one opens an apple, all that is seen are five seeds. Yet when God opens an apple, he can see the thousands of orchards.
