Day 9: A Lotta No Good Tomatoes

                                                    

When we first started going to the tomato field we noticed a lot of tomatoes on the ground rotting.  We could tell that the field had already been harvested and we were surprised at the amount of tomatoes that were left behind.

It became a topic of interest for about 5 minutes amongst the kids.  Carlos commented, "Wow, that's a lotta no good tomatoes!"

Yet the interesting thing is, that as these tomatoes were growing they probably looked the same to the untrained eye. From the outside they all might have looked good, but to the reaper (the one who would decide which would be chosen and which would be left) they were not all the same on the inside. 

   

This morning, as we were leaving the tomato field, we saw the fate of those tomatoes who didn't make it.  The field workers were starting small fires throughout the field. These fires were being started to destroy what was left, everything that didn't make the harvest.

                                           

The tomatoes that remained in the vine were harvested, but the ones that fell off the vine rotted...they had nothing to sustain them. 
This is not just the story of "a lotta no good tomatoes"
it's the story of you and I...

 

Jesus compares our relationship to him, as that of fruit on a vine.

John 15:5-6

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

Right before our eyes God showed us a spiritual principle in a physical way and we were grateful for the way God was using this field to be the chalkboard in which He was teaching us His ways.

 

As part of Carl's Bible reading today, he came across this scripture
which I believe God clearly pointed out to us as a reminder
of the importance of living daily.

Psalm 90:3-4,12

You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night...
Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Our life is but a vapor. What if you were told you had six months to live? What would change? What are the things you would let go of?  What would you focus more on?

 

If we were to "number our days," we would live everyday in recognition of our Maker and the fact that we are His creation. We were created to live in His image and make a difference today in the things that will matter in eternity.

We would remain in Him because we would live in preparation of the moment when we stand before Him and present to Jesus
the way we've lived out our "numbered days."
 
1Corinthians 3:13
their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.

I want to live the type of life that when it's laid down
and "revealed with fire,"
my King would find me still standing.

And my prayer is that you would be too.

***Today, are you living your life of numbered days?

*** This is where this blog post originally ended.  We were so excited in thinking about the illustration that God had put before us.  But as we thought about it, a sobering thought came to Carl about the tomatoes that weren't harvested.  Those "lotta no good tomatoes" represent real people.  People who have lived by their own will and spent their numbered days without wisdom. 

Matthew 7:13-14
For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.