Good Apples

Fruit have been on my mind lately. There was that verse about being a people who produce the fruits of the kingdom (Mt 21:43) in last Sunday's gospel. I've just eaten a wonderfully crisp and sweet apple for lunch. Then there is Apple Computers and the death of founder Steve Jobs after a short but remarkably fruitful and influential life. Jobs' death inspired a fascinating piece over at Wondering Fair, the blog: "Will there be Macs in heaven?" But I digress.

Tradition identifies the humble apple as the fruit which Adam and Eve raided in Garden of Eden. In fact, the text does not tell us what the fruit in question was. It could have been a mango or a plum. Proverbs 25:11 tells us

      A word fitly spoken
      is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. (ESV)

Apples of gold. No wonder the apple is also associated with motherhood, pie and all that is good.

Here are seven ways to produce fruits of the kingdom by being apple-ish:

1. Apples are colourful and pleasant to behold. If you and I were as attractive in the Spirit people would be drawn to the One who lives within us. 
2. An apple's skin is shiny. If our spiritual skins were as shiny we would reflect the Glory of God more clearly and delightfully.
3. Most apples taste sweet when they're ripe. A healthy sweetness of the Spirit in me will draw people to Jesus and leave a sweet taste in their mouths. 
4. Apples have a core in which the seeds of the next generation are kept. I, too, have the seeds of a new generation of Christians in my core when Jesus resides there. 
5. Apples grow on a tree. Jesus died on a tree—a tree of life for me. 
6. Apples exist to feed people. In the kingdom, so do I. 
7. Apples exist to reproduce. Ditto.

Lord, "keep us as the apple of an eye." (The Book of Common Prayer: Compline)