“And God
said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit
trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind,
on the earth.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants
yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in
which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:11-12
It’s mid August as I write this, and we are at the height of
a particularly hot, lush growing season
in NE Ohio. Personal gardens, rural farm
stands and urban grocery chains are overflowing with sprouting vegetation and
fruit of all kinds and colors. We are
blessed beyond measure with God’s overflowing provision and I’m so grateful.
I’ve noticed though as I walk through my grocery store each
week, that more and more bins are filled with seedless varieties of this
bounty. I find myself gazing upon these plants
that are now…seed-less ?…according to its kind; and the fruit…no
longer bearing seed …according to its kind! My Lord, what is happening here?
I confess…. I do enjoy having more pulp in my watermelon and
less mess in dealing with the seeds. And….yes…how
nice it is to just pop each grape in my mouth and not worry about those seeds
either. I certainly appreciate how much
easier it must be for all my grand kiddos, managing their littles with messy
melons at table. But…in the big scheme
of things… Lord….what is happening here?
Good ole Google to the rescue has informed me that this “seedless-ing”
is most commonly accomplished by human
manual methods of cloning and grafting or genetic manipulation using hormones
and chemicals. Hmmm! Do they think our bodies won't recognize the difference?
I wonder what our Creator God
thinks about all these “improvements”?
“God
said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the
face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. Genesis 1:29
Sigh!...But then I got to thinking: yes….this is a big deal. But honestly, besides putting it to prayer, I
can’t do much about it.
However,… I definitely can do something about any spiritual
counterparts in my life that may reflect this same paradigm! Is
there still fruit bearing more fruit in my thought life, my
choices, my work, my friendships, my time management? Or…are there areas where this might be diminishing? Where have I already begun to allow stealthy
switch-overs? Where am I noticing some sterility or a strange barrenness? Where are there leafy branches...but no fruit? When
opening all this to God, will it still be:
“God saw that it was Good?” Oh
Lord, please let that be the case.
What about you dear reader?
Any seedless-ing
creeping in?
Carolyn