A season for first fruits
I came across a devotional reading which seems appropriate for this season of the year. It begins by quoting Proverbs 3:9. “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.” And then:
“Anyone can give away the tomatoes and cucumbers of August. By that time amateur gardeners have eaten bushels of fresh vegetables and find it hard to face another squash or onion. Sacks of them wait in the kitchen in hopes of finding another unwilling victim who will take them off our hands. But in early summer, when the first fruits of the garden make their appearance, we pounce on a zucchini with greedy delight, and only grudgingly parcel out the early tomatoes that we have been dreaming about all winter and spring.”
Those of us who have vegetable gardens can relate to this picture. We do wait with eager longing for that first squash or tomato or green bean or watermelon from our very own garden. Sure, you can buy them in the store, but it’s just not the same. And you can buy most vegetables all year long, although they have likely traveled thousands of miles to get to your local supermarket. There’s something about waiting and eating “fruit in season” that seems right.
But then, how quickly we get our fill, and being frugal Brethren we don’t want to waste anything. I remember one person saying he always locks his car when at church during zucchini season lest some generous neighbor deposits a bag of surplus produce on his back seat. So be advised that by August you may want to lock your car in the church parking lot. Early summer vegetables are hoarded by their owners, but as time goes by they become much less valuable and more easily shared.
Proverbs 3:9 suggests a very different priority. It calls us to give to God our first fruits, that which is of real value to us. We honor God not by giving leftovers, but by giving our best. We often refer to this verse in terms of financial stewardship. Do we give our tithe to God first, or do we wait until the end of the month to see if anything is left over?
But moreover, do we give the “first fruits” of our lives to God--our time, talent, energy? Do we tithe our best to God’s work and God’s church? Do we plan quality time to be with God in prayer and Bible reading, or do we mumble a quick prayer as we fall into bed exhausted at the end of a long day?
Offering our “first fruits” to God means giving to God the best of those resources God has entrusted to us. Yes, it means giving our money, but also giving the best of our days and our lives to God who has given all to us.
Pastor Wayne
“Anyone can give away the tomatoes and cucumbers of August. By that time amateur gardeners have eaten bushels of fresh vegetables and find it hard to face another squash or onion. Sacks of them wait in the kitchen in hopes of finding another unwilling victim who will take them off our hands. But in early summer, when the first fruits of the garden make their appearance, we pounce on a zucchini with greedy delight, and only grudgingly parcel out the early tomatoes that we have been dreaming about all winter and spring.”
Those of us who have vegetable gardens can relate to this picture. We do wait with eager longing for that first squash or tomato or green bean or watermelon from our very own garden. Sure, you can buy them in the store, but it’s just not the same. And you can buy most vegetables all year long, although they have likely traveled thousands of miles to get to your local supermarket. There’s something about waiting and eating “fruit in season” that seems right.
But then, how quickly we get our fill, and being frugal Brethren we don’t want to waste anything. I remember one person saying he always locks his car when at church during zucchini season lest some generous neighbor deposits a bag of surplus produce on his back seat. So be advised that by August you may want to lock your car in the church parking lot. Early summer vegetables are hoarded by their owners, but as time goes by they become much less valuable and more easily shared.
Proverbs 3:9 suggests a very different priority. It calls us to give to God our first fruits, that which is of real value to us. We honor God not by giving leftovers, but by giving our best. We often refer to this verse in terms of financial stewardship. Do we give our tithe to God first, or do we wait until the end of the month to see if anything is left over?
But moreover, do we give the “first fruits” of our lives to God--our time, talent, energy? Do we tithe our best to God’s work and God’s church? Do we plan quality time to be with God in prayer and Bible reading, or do we mumble a quick prayer as we fall into bed exhausted at the end of a long day?
Offering our “first fruits” to God means giving to God the best of those resources God has entrusted to us. Yes, it means giving our money, but also giving the best of our days and our lives to God who has given all to us.
Pastor Wayne