Apples and Trees

Apple Polisher

Apple jelly is delicious on toast

In the golden olden days, children showed their appreciation for their teacher by bringing them a delicious apple. While this may have garnered favour from the teacher, it could also turn jealous classmates against the thoughtful gift giver and thusly, the label "apple polisher" emerged. 

Fruity friends

A rotten apple is a threat to the bunch, and is also a metaphorical warning; let it stay amongst its' fruity friends, and it will destroy the rest of them, making them inedible, or in the case of humans, making them just as potentially rotten. 

Judging a tree

Next up in my mental queue of apple references is judging a tree by its fruit. Trees are cut down when disease is detected: who wants to munch on a trees decaying produce? The bold statement here, is you are some kind of fruit dear reader, and you will be judged by what you produce. 

With a cringe

Lastly, and without exhausting the fruit and tree metaphors, because I am confident you may be thinking of many more, there is this: the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This is the one that I must land on with a cringe. 

When fully ripened, trees let go of their fruit. The fruit, say an apple, is far more appealing when it is plucked from a branch, rather than from the ground, where perhaps decaying has begun. Apples fall from apple trees, coconuts from on high palm trees and cucumbers from cucumber trees (just checking to see if you still with me dear reader, because I promise I will make a point soon). 

We never expect bananas from a peach tree, or monkeys from a human mother, (despite the ridiculousness of the suggestion that we evolved from primates). You get the point. The cringing part is the fallen fruit, the already turning into insect- food-rotting, that the earth inevitably engages itself in... the reabsorption:

All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again (Ecclesiastes 3:20)

Going for the jugular vein
Here I will go for the jugular vein pulsating with life blood on either side of your neck: You are an apple and you came from a tree. You are the product of parents, and ancestral roots are partially visible to the naked eye, that being those relatives still alive or recently departed. Then their are the deeper roots, buried beneath the surface, say your great great great grandmama on your paternal and maternal sides of the family. But for them, you would not be, so to speak. 

Their life blood flows in you, and you can feel the pulse when you hold your hands to your carotid arteries. They are you and you are them, and this may be the grandest truth ever told, or it may be the most vile thing to be observed and uttered, because the tree and its fruit are identifiable, undeniable, impossible to separate. You are produce dear one. You came from someone, many someones that came before you. The tree you grew from may be the healthiest one in the orchard, and the fruit it has borne, the most delicious and sumptuous, or rot, I mean not... 

Let us cut to the chase, shall we?

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me (John 15:1-4)

Take a look now at who you come from: 

• Are you just like them? 
• Does this raise the corners of your mouth, in elated delight, or are your eyebrows turning downward and drawing close together, in consternation and concern? 
• Are you proud of who you are, and do you represent your ancestors well, carrying on their bold and beautiful fruitful lives of kindness, compassion, mercy, generosity, and love or; 
• Are you just like them in the opposite direction, which does not need to be described here since you, dear reader, know exactly what your family is like and what kind of fruits they are 😏 

I am a fan of my Teacher and may comfortably be considered, an apple polisher. I know where I came from humanly speaking, and sometimes my fruit has been on the rotten inedible side. Thankfully, I know this timeless truth:

And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakes of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee (Romans 11:17-18) 

We all come from humans but, but dear reader, we are invited into the family of God Almighty through Christ. He is the tree of life and as an apple or an olive, I want to be just like Him, getting my nourishing sap from The Root, the Creator of all things fruity and human. My support comes from Him. 

Where, dear one, do you get your "sap", your support, your life giving nourishment? 

Where?

Emotional Laziness

Nails on chalkboards
It is Friday night, and I am considering some deep questions about myself and some of the people that have infiltrated my life. The word infiltrate infers an almost sinister gaining of access "to acquire secret information". When I think back over time, I can see discord, hear nails on chalkboards, and screeching-to-a-halt feelings that I managed and contained. In my memories, their are faces and situations, along with odd occurrences that did not match what I believe about who I am or who good people are: I went along for the ride sometimes, turning into the people around me. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, isn't that sadly right, dear reader? 

This is emotional laziness at it's best, turning me and perhaps you, into our worst. Becoming who we never dreamed of being, what we actually despise in others, is a living nightmare, only no one is sleeping. It is wide awake awareness that makes us accountable for the coping and copying.

Vileness that lurks in each of us
I am more me now than I have ever been. I have proud moments that stand out as evidence that I can and do choose my company, my reactions, my approach, who I want to be when others are looking, and not looking. I am pretty consistently friendly, hopeful, playful, engaging, thoughtful and kind. I show mercy and compassion and I always self assess, checking myself for the vileness that lurks in each of us; that threatens to show its ugly face when we feel wounded or enraged. 

Do not repay
evil with evil (1 Peter 3:9)

This is the me, the wounded and next, enraged one, I indulge alone. It is never ok to spill our poison where someone else might get singed by contact. This me is emotionally mature, emotionally sound and intelligent... advanced and elevated. Sometimes I utter hate but the part of me that hates to hate cannot tolerate this evil, cannot repay evil with evil. This makes me weep because rising above is forever and always the hardest thing we will ever do as humans. It is the hero in me that does not permit disparaging other humans for any self-indulgent length of time. 

Heroes are in our midst
I look for heroes everywhere dear reader. They exist, they are in our midst. It is the mom or dad left behind, to keep the family together. It is the child who loves even when they don't understand. It is the parent that watches, hopes and waits for their son or daughter to start living again. They are the friends that ask, are you alright, do you need a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen? It is the family that says we are here for you and you deserve better... it is the drug addict who wakes up with vomit on his pillow and realizes he is not superman, that he is merely man, and that his wife and kids require him to be his best. It is kindness dear reader, grace and forgiveness given when undeserved. Extending this when we would rather not, that is being heroic. 

Are you a hero?

Are you a hero dear reader? Is nobility a character trait that you display in your public and private moments? Do ethics and morals play lead roles in your life? How can we, the people that know you or may meet you one day, trust you? Can you be held to your word, or must this be at gun point? Who are you and what do you stand for? Are you proud of you? Again, are you, a hero, worth knowing or are you emotionally lazy, infiltrating the lives of others and secretly stealing from them, laying your hands in places they should never have gone?

Asking ourselves these questions takes bravery, and the honest answers may require each of us to open our eyes to how close to, or far away, we have travelled from being heroic. While many are on their third Friday night weekly ritual beverage, I lay these heavy queries at your feet, an offering of something far more valuable and significant: a challenge to look into your own soul and see what lurks or lights the you that is. 

Zombies and Cannibalism

Delicious

"MMMmmmm, that looks delicious... may I have a bite?" Looking down at your tantalizing sandwich, you are more than willing to share.

"Sure" you reply while picking up the sandwich and extending it to your lunch companion. As their mouth gets closer, widening and readying to take a "bite", you unexpectedly feel teeth latch onto the side of your hand. Your flesh tears as you quickly pull your hand away, a yelp escaping your own parted lips.

"What the hell are you doing?" you scream in appalled disgust.

Watching you closely, your companion takes time to answer while chewing slowly, savouring the morsel in his mouth. You watch transfixed. Your sick companion swallows and next, their reddened tongue appears, taking a round trip over first the bottom, than the top stained with your blood, lips. You cannot peel your eyes away: the tongue now darts to the corners, dabbing to clean the last bit of evidence that has accumulated there. Time seems to have frozen and you are horrified at the spectacle before you. You wait impossibly for an answer to the question it seems you asked, a thousand years ago?

Finally, in a self-satisfied sinister tone, you hear "I was right. Delicious."

The final taboo to be obliterated

Eating human flesh: the final taboo that must be obliterated from an overly compassionate and moralistic society. Turn on your television, look up some "shows" on Netflix, and you can be entertained endlessly with this concept that somehow makes light, of a very dark and dreadfully demonic activity. This is not new(s) or at least, it is very old news. It is a satanic practice and satan has been around for a hell of a long time. Zombies are popular to watch and are even considered, comical.

Desensitize the masses

An image our children
have grown accustomed to

Murder and flesh eating suggestions to humans are everyday activities for the devil and his demons. The great and grand accomplishment of this masterful demon is the current embracing of the concept, as though it were just a harmless bit of play acting, something to laugh about. The ploy to desensitize the masses is working, and our children are being exposed to the mindless watching and accepting, of evil activities. Their psyches being impressed and imposed upon without any counter balance, anyone telling them how vile and wrong such behaviour is, even if just for "pretend" as "entertainment". 

Richard Dawkins: "I've long been looking forward to this," he writes. "What if human meat is grown? Could we overcome our taboo against cannibalism?" You do not have to go far into a google search to find this "intelligent" leader of the atheistic elk, exposing his true beliefs and agenda. If I were a professing atheist, I would quickly burn all of my l-love-Dawkins paraphernalia: there is guilt by association, as we all know. Unless of course, you too are cannibalistic and blood thirsty?

Calling out the evil spouting for what it is

My question... would you like to sit across from Richard at lunch time? Here is an enquiry for the would-be-conscience-clear-cannibal... Richard, since you are such a proponent of human flesh as a source of edible protein, have you tried it yet? Ok one more question for the king of the atheists... have any of your colleagues, relatives, or apple-polishing-followers, gone missing recently, last seen in your hungry-eyed company?

God is very clear, demanding an accounting

And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man (Genesis 9:5-6)

We have (potentially), a real live Hannibal Lecter roaming freely among us, one of many. This cleaned up for public speaking monster utters detestable things, as though they were long awaited evolutionary advancements in "science". I request of you, if you are still here reading this: safe guard your mind and the minds of your children against the vileness that enters your home via screens. 

What seems like fantasy is something satan worshipers have done for countless generations. History is wrought with the horrors of humans eating their own children in worship of the devil.

We must pay attention, now. Our future depends upon it

The Greatest Miracle

Great restraint
I have been reading the book, The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey. What strikes me as astounding, is an idea I can't shake, something that has dumbfounded me and clearly, other Christians along the way. The persistent thought and question is: How does God show such great restraint? How does he watch us destroy one another and ourselves, willingly, and not wipe us all out from sheer annoyance and despairing distain?

Legalizing killing
Mans rebellious question of how God permits evil while sitting on His hands is audaciously rude, considering the fact that God has the power of life and death: we presume the same ominous power each time we make or kill our babies through conception and the ultimate degradation of life, abortion. I live in peaceful Canada and clinically speaking, I can choose euthanasia (a colloquialism for assisted suicide: I heard this offered repeatedly to an elderly patient who was in emergency and not hooked up to life saving equipment. She was very ill and all alone with no relative by her side, to advocate for her life... death was an al la carte offering). 

Our options seem endless, don't they dear reader? We can choose to kill at will, including asking others to help us terminate our own lives, and there are ample philosophical explanations to augment the malevolent arguments.

One bite and apple pie
The devil has done an outstanding job, convincing the populace that life and death are options: that individuals have the right to manipulate and contort facts, to suit the situations they find themselves in. This is a return to Eden, and one delicious bite of forbidden fruit, the fruit of rebellion against God, in favour of wanting to be all powerful, like Him:

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:17) 

For in the day that thou eatest thereof... God gave us free range and reign. He gave us choice over good and evil, and I don't know about you, but I am a modern day Eve, surrounded by modern day Adams and Eves. My joke over the years has been, if Eve took a bite of the apple, we made apple pie from that same apple. I have chosen evil over good, one too many times in my life, to point a finger at any other human and say, you are the bad one, I am "good". 

Let us face this fact dear reader: while the devil is an accomplished salesdemon, we are willing customers, buying his wares with exorbitant price tags attached.

We are misguided and randy
If the devil is peddling death, let us be clear that the God of the universe is soft selling life. He does not force it on anyone of us, other than His original choice when He:

For You created my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb (Psalm 139:13) 

We are the ones that get to choose for our little ones, for each other, and ultimately for ourselves, whether or not we want to honour the life He gives. It is pure love that is the greatest miracle of them all. The purity displayed in Gods benevolent nature, that shows the restraint He has, in watching without taking choices away from misguided and randy children, who seem inclined to self selected implosion and combustion.

Free will, we all have it

Love carved into the bite

"Omnipotence which can lay its hand so heavily upon the world can also make its touch so light that the creature receives independence" Soren Kierkegaard. Free will dear one, we all have it, and what we do with it makes us accountable. The real question is this: are you accountable to Him or to the one that is reading this sentence? He is not the boss of you, you are, which can be a scary thought, wouldn't you agree? Shrug, sigh and moving on. I don't have Godly patience, I have a drum that I must beat, the one He gave me to tell you repeatedly (from the Andy Gibb song, Thicker Than Water) "Love is, higher than a mountain, love is, thicker than water." Love is sacrifice for the sake of the weak, those of whom Jesus spoke, from the cross:

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots (Luke 23:34)

Addendum: We are currently facing Gods judgment. He is kind, He is merciful, He is long suffering, AND, He is just. Humanity has been put on red alert, and we are called to Glorify Him, no matter the circumstances we face. Now, each of us must take a stand, and state clearly to whom we belong December 28th, 2021

U Can't Touch This

Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not come (John 7:30)

The plot has Him centred for assassination
While reading my Bible this morning I was vastly entertained. An old Saturday Night Live skit, Coffee Talk, flooded my memory along with the song U Can't Touch This, by MC Hammer. 

Thickener to the plot

Jesus is in the throngs of an elbow to elbow crowd. Thousands of people have flooded Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles. Jesus takes the rabbi position in the temple courts, and He is saying things that people don't really like: in fact, what He says acts as thickener to the plot, that has Him centred for assassination. 

With slit eyes and barely concealed snarls, there is grumbling as He speaks, and then the murderous ones in the crowd can't take it anymore, and they try to grab Him, to take Him. Ha!

Flowing robes but still, no grip?
... but no man laid hands on him. Let us picture the fashions of Jesus' day, flowing robes. Now imagine people looking up at Him, and feeling insulted, with His bold statements about who He is, and who they are not. Imagine the blood rising to their faces in indignation, and their hands clenching and unclenching, readying themselves to take hold of Him, and tear Him limb from limb in their rage. He keeps talking, and the more He speaks, the more they feel the urge to lunge and grab Him:

Lets not pretend, you know, Who I AM

Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me (John 7:28-29) 

Jesus isn't just some guy from Galilee, tethered in time and space to an earthy location, He is God, sent by God. Who wants to hear this, when in the heart of every man is a desire to be his own god, his own master? The crowds do not like this one tiny bit, but the Good News, is that some heard Him speak, and liked what He had to say, because they had been waiting for Messiah 

And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? (John 7:31)

God is funny too: where do you think you got your sense of humour?

Could not seize and squeeze
Let us go back to why I started writing this piece in the first place! Jesus was wearing a flowing robe and when the crowd got miffed, they couldn't get a grip! Jesus was like butter to them, they could not seize and squeeze. 

Forgive me Lord, for what might seem irreverent, but I see Jesus dancing on the temple court steps and saying "U can't touch this, da na na na, na na, na na. Can't touch this." I am pretty sure God is super funny. Listen to the song I mention here... MC Hammer actually praises God in the song!

Oh Jesus, you are the best. You are like butter, delicious!