Shake the Tree

We, God’s people, should have a hunger for God’s Word, a desire to get to know Him on a personal level. Some of us delve into the Bible, which is the best thing to do, while others might be satisfied with what they pick up from a weekly sermon. Sunday School classes and Bible studies offered by the church are great nourishment. It’s good to listen to different preachers, read inspirational books, and talk to other Christians. Most important is spending time with Him in prayer and being mindful of His presence wherever we are.
If we don’t add knowledge to our faith and settle for what we can figure out on our own, or something we heard at one time and found comforting, we are missing out on so much….God has so much He wants to share with us. When we are new Christians and just learning, it might seem overwhelming, trying to take in the magnitude of God’s Word. We don’t have to learn it all at once and we won’t. Lasting relationships grow as we get to know each other.
God feeds us His Word according to our ability to understand it. As babies we couldn’t digest adult foods unless they were offered to us in a more pureed form….it is the same with God’s Word….there are many parts we will read and not understand. We have to get our teeth before we are ready for the solid foods, or meat that takes a lot of chewing.
By limiting our knowledge, we limit our faith, which limits God’s power to work in our lives. How wonderful it is that there is always more to know and more to learn about who God is and how He works. We all perceive things differently and to hear or read other people’s ideas and interpretations of scripture is how we learn the many aspects of His love. The wonder of it will amaze us. Just the fact that He chose me and died on the cross for my sins is amazing enough in itself….but I hunger for more. Like the baby that sees Mom eating a hamburger and cries for a bite, we want more.
The kind of nourishment we get depends on who is feeding us. The world is full of junk food….it tastes good, but too much of it is not good for our bodies. For God’s children, only the best is good enough. He doesn’t want us eating junk food when He offers us a gourmet meal….if we ask for it. As we grow and life throws us curves, we learn it’s lessons and grow in strength as well as wisdom. As the lessons get tougher, the food we get from God’s Word takes on stronger meaning and new knowledge of Him is gained from every trial.
This time of the year when the apple trees start to ripen, many go out to pick them. Some nice ones can be found lying on the ground around the tree, but a lot of them have rotted or worms gotten to them. The better ones still cling to the tree waiting to be picked. The best ones always seem to be at the top of the tree, out of our reach….so what do we do? We shake that tree! The loose ones fall to the ground and we scramble to pick them up. Finally, we head home with enough apples to last a while, dreaming of dumplings and pies, we can’t wait to bite into.
Let’s compare the apple tree to God’s word. When we are saved we have faith but sometimes very little knowledge….like enough apples to make a pie. More knowledge is found in God’s Word, within our reach and understanding….like apples clinging to the tree. But if we want more, to sustain us, we must study God’s Word, live and grow, search the scriptures and pray….Shake the tree.
We may soon lose our appetite for the taste of apples….but may we always hunger for more knowledge and understanding of God. May we shake the tree often by stepping out in faith to serve Him….and be ready as He allows us to grow in faith and knowledge…. to bite into the wonder and amazement of His marvelous love!