I bought a watermelon at the grocery store the other day. I thumped along, listening for a deep, hollow echo. I’ve heard (from grandparents, maybe?) that the deeper the sound the riper the melon. So I thwacked a bunch before adding one to my basket. When cut open at home the melon proved red, ripe and delicious, a successful selection. I’m convinced that while my process helps, the fact that watermelons are in season makes picking a good one easier.

Earlier this summer I reaped a harvest from my strawberry beds. Yesterday I picked a handful of blackberries, just now turning dark and sweet. Best of all, fresh peaches are arriving and we’ll gorge on those for several weeks.

Fruits mature at different times throughout the summer. Here in Colorado our season arrives later than many places, so the anticipation grows stronger. Gotta stay calm when the peach stands start to pop up.

Jesus talked about fruit when he addressed a group of religious leaders: Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

My interior attitudes and mental states express through my outer actions. I may hide behind nice words and flowery promises for a time, but the overflow—the abundance—of my heart, kind or cutting, eventually leaks out.

Yesterday I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up a prescription which I thought was ready, but was not. The harried clerk apologized and said they were backed up and didn’t know when I should return. I said thanks and was nice enough, but walked away frustrated. When I sat in the car this idea of abundance of heart struck me. What did this minor inconvenience reveal about the status of my inner life? Am I producing sweet fruit, or only tainted pieces with a shiny veneer?

An abundance of heart appears in qualities like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23). If these are growing in my life, even in tiny, incremental measures, then I know my inner life is connected to the Lord. If not, I need to do some work in the garden.

The cornucopia of fruit season never fails to bring me joy. It’s a wonderful image of what an abundance of heart yields as I allow the Lord to cultivate my life through his Spirit and his Word. If I let the Master Gardener have his way, and then I might enjoy his lavish nature not just in certain seasons, but in all phases of life.

Matthew 12:33-34

Photo by Rens D

Elijah felt alone and abandoned. After a whirlwind of miraculous ministry—confronting the prophets of Baal, predicting a massive rainstorm, and fleeing for his life from a mad queen, Elijah sat in a cave. He sensed no hope on the horizon as he moaned out this prayer:

I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.

The Lord responded, but instead of wrapping Elijah in a big hug or telling him good job, Yahweh gave the next assignment. No time for self-pity, Elijah, too much work to be done. But then the Lord added this reassurance: Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.

Seven thousand—Elijah was not all alone after all. Scores of people whose hearts remained steadfast inhabited the land. Take courage, Elijah, more stand with you than you realize.

I find this passage incredibly encouraging. In today’s chaotic world where godly ways of living and treating others fade and disappear, thousands multiplied by thousands follow the Lord and practice his ways. I am not alone, and neither are you.

Stand strong. Stay courageous. Keep the faith.

1 Kings 19:9-18

Photo by DNK.PHOTO

A few days ago I visited our local department of motor vehicles office. A new system required making an online appointment, and when I showed up for my scheduled time slot I thought I stepped through the wrong door. No more chaos. Two people waited quietly as I checked in. Within a few minutes I sat at the counter and chatted with a friendly clerk. The process went smoothly and I have to say, made for a pleasant experience (except for writing a big check for the state and county fees).

The next day I dropped off my Jeep for a repair. Some problem with the emissions system, which means in our part of Colorado the vehicle would not pass an emissions test, which means I would not be able to license the vehicle at the now pleasant DMV. The circle of life. After paying another hefty sum I drove off. Car chores finished for awhile.

My schedule fills with tasks, maintenance issues (one of my gutters is clogged), and things that just have to get done. How do I find the Lord in my to-do list? Where is God in the mundane? Many places in the Scriptures remind us of God’s ongoing presence. I like this passage from Hebrews:

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

The Lord seems to be keeping me free from money as I spend lavishly on vehicle fees and service. But much more hopeful is the reminder that the Lord is my helper and never gets bored or wanders off.

Where is the Lord in the midst of monotonous and tiresome activities? Right next to me, whether at the DMV, repair shop or anywhere in between. It’s an amazing reality—God stays with me wherever I go.

Hebrews 13:5-6

Photo by Edwin Chen

I enjoy driving across Missouri and Kansas and Colorado in the summer. Field after field of crops line the road. Corn and soybeans pass in orderly rows. Sunflowers turn their faces as they follow the light. Cattle graze on hill after hill.

The Lord speaks of cattle when he reminds us that every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. There may well be a thousand hills across these states, and every cow belongs first to a rancher, and then ultimately to God.

I love this image, and it describes God’s blessings in my life. But the psalmist uses the picture to describe how God has all he needs, and does not depend on our sacrifices to him. In a blow to my ego, apparently God does not need me. Not one bit. But I need him.

From the rising of the sun to its setting…God shines forth. God controls the universe. He sets worlds in motion. He pulls the levers. He owns it all. Despite certain philosophical leanings, man did not create God out of our existential angst. God created us so that we might know him.

How do I respond? The psalm ends, The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!

God doesn’t need my cows or my talents. Instead, he asks me to turn toward him with a spirit of thankfulness, to acknowledge from whom the gifts in my life spring, and to honor the Giver. Then, by ordering my ways by his ways, I might discover the salvation of God. Which is even better than the cattle on a thousand hills.

Psalm 50

Photo by todd kent