Like Father, Like Son

It has been said that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Well if we are talking about the tree of forbidden fruit, a lot of people have their very own tree planted right in their back yard. They water it, and they tend to it, making sure it does not die. Their tree flourishes from the drama they put on Facebook, the gossip they share with others, and the negativity they have in their hearts. Their children watch them as they feed and continue to grow this tree with branches full of hate and wickedness. And although they are watching from behind the glass window, they too, start feeding the tree just like the ones they love and look up to do.

This tree is ugly. This tree is rotten. This tree smells foul. This tree is so bad, that the city or your homeowners association will be contacting you to cut it down and burn it ASAP!

Soon, everyone is too busy snatching and eating apples, that the apples don’t have time to ripen, let alone fall from the tree.

The interesting thing about apples, or almost any fruit, is that the moment they are picked from the tree, they stop ripening altogether. This means that if you pick an apple that isn’t ripe, you cannot treat it as a fully mature apple, and it will not be the same. It will never have a chance to go back and fully mature. So, it is very important to pick them at their peak.

The interesting thing about children is the moment they are plucked from their childhood and forced to act like an adult,  they have lost the ability to fully mature.

I watch in awe at some of the smallest things my children do that mimic the actions of me and my husband. Things that can’t be taught. Are they genetic? Are they learned? Or are they just bits and pieces of us passed on in spirit?

It has been said that the apple doesn’t fall to far from the tree. Well, I challenge you to plant the tree of life filled with branches of love and peace. Be a diligent gardner so that your tree will not bear rotten fruit.

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 17: 1-4).

Our Father sent the best part of him to earth to represent and save us, not to condemn us (John 3:16-18).

So make sure that you are rooted in the Lord. Be an example to your children. Let your them see just how great of a gardner you can be.

I pray that you will grow the biggest, shiniest, juiciest apples! I pray that your children will enjoy their childhood, fully maturing, with strong roots in the Lord that remains the foundation of their growing tree that will never be cut down!

God Bless