First Christian Church, Flora, Indiana

August, 2010

Long ago, in the early morning hours of a Saturday in May, six tomato plants were put into the ground. The dirt had been dug deep, fertilizer added, and the plants were tenderly planted, waiting for God to “do his thing” and make them grow. They were planted in groups of three, in two very different areas of the yard.

Three of them went up against the south side of the house. There the sun would bless them with warmth, and they would receive extra water every couple of days. The dirt had been there for some time, but with the right care and fertilizer, the three should do well.

The other three were planted in the midst of a compost rich raised bed. In gardener’s terms, the best one can do. Keep it weeded and the plants should grow with great success.

The gardener had expectations of the three plants in the raised bed. They were given everything they needed, and soon the plants took off and grew to a great size. Blooms appeared and soon small tomatoes appeared. With the cool mornings and warm afternoons, the fruit grew in size.

However, the three plants at the side of the house were soon ignored. They were not conveniently placed to be watered. Weeds were pulled but the plants were rather short and without many blooms. But a few tomatoes did appear.

Which of the two groups do you think did best? Experience would tell us to expect the ones that were pampered in good soil and watered on a regular basis would provide the most fruit; while the ones that were ignored would not do so well. In fact, to a point, that is true. The three plants in the dark rich compost soil grew to produce dozens of softball sized tomatoes. The only problem was that they were knotty, of poor quality, and almost unable to be eaten. It is called “blight”. On the other hand, the poor looking plants did pretty good. In fact, the family ate its first tomatoes from those vines and it looks like more will be coming. Thus ends the tale of the tomatoes.

What does all this mean? Sometimes we can nurture and instruct and care for people and do everything in one’s power to make sure all goes well in their lives, only to have that person less productive than we had expected. But given a hard way to go, and watched over by a loving tender “gardener”, those people that don’t seem to have a chance flourish.

Never underestimate the power of God in a person’s life. He can take the most ugly and poor looking tomato plant and make it out to be the top producer. If He can do that with plants, just think what He can do with people.

We are all given equal chances in this life. Some of us are planted in deep rich compost and others in hard packed dirt. The unexpected can and will happen, if we let God get in there and tend the garden.

Pastor Woody