There once was an orchard filled with all kinds of trees. The Master assigned one person to each tree with instructions to grow excellent fruit on each tree. So they set about working. Many worked long hours laboring anxiously over their trees, hoping to make the best fruit.
Prophet walked through this orchard, and saw many strange things. One man was standing at the end of a sickly branch, massaging the bud. Prophet asked what he was doing, and he said to him, “My Master asked me to produce the Fruit of Holiness, so I am working to make that fruit.” He walked on to the next tree where he saw a woman standing over a small runt of a tree. She repeatedly pulled on each branch as if trying to stretch them. Prophet asked what she was up to, and she replied, “My Master has charged me to grow the Fruit of Obedience, so I am working to make that fruit.”
As Prophet continued through the orchard he saw many more strange spectacles, with each tree being tugged on, pushed, squeezed and prodded. Some creative workers had even purchased building supplies and were hard at work, building and attaching artificial fruits of Wisdom and Kindness to their trees. Prophet finally couldn’t stand it anymore, and asked the crowd, “When was the last time you watered the soil?”. The man trying to produce Holiness stood up and said, “I haven’t had time to water the soil. You see, my master places a very high value on Holiness. It isn’t as easy to make as you would think, so I have devoted all of my energy to making this fruit. Perhaps after I’ve made my fruit I will have time for water.” Prophet found this laughable, so he said loudly for all to hear, “Your Master isn’t impressed with your Holiness or your Obedience….and you sir, can’t you see that your Wisdom isn’t even real? I tell you, if you will give up on your efforts, and simply water the soil, all of your fruit will grow with ease!”
This speech stirred up a great debate among the workers. Some were greatly offended, and said, “You just don’t see the value in Holiness and Obedience, in Winning Souls and Self-Control, and in all the other fruits. Our Master values these, so clearly you are not from him since you think our labor is a waste!” Others were not so much offended as they were confused, and asked, “If all we do is water the soil, how is it possible for our fruit to grow? Don’t you see, we have to stretch the branches and form the leaves? We must massage the fruit, and flick off the flies, and……we just have so much to do!” There was another small group who seemed more excited by the idea, and asked, “If all we do is water the soil, what will we do with all our free time?” To which Prophet responded, “your Master wants you to rest and enjoy the fruit you have grown! I also get the feeling that he wants to just hang out with you sometimes. Have you noticed him touring the orchards? I don’t deny that he is inspecting trees, but have you seen the way he stops and looks at each of YOU? He really seems more interested in you than he is in your trees if you ask me.”
Needless to say, the debate continued on for some time. Some dismissed Prophet’s crazy notion out of hand and continued to work very hard on building fruit. They formed committees to discuss new ways of making fruit, talked about the 7 Effective Habit’s of a Good Fruit Maker, and warned each other lest they should be found lazy and out of touch like those strange “Water People”. Still others decided that some water really was a good thing, but also continued with their old work. They saw a remarkable increase in their productivity, and were very please with their pulling and massaging, constructing and flicking….and with the marginal help the water proved to be. Finally, we come to the group that abandoned their work altogether, save for one thing. Every morning and every evening they watered the soil. During the rest of their day, they enjoyed the shade provided by their broad, leafy trees, ate the delicious fruit that hung from the branches, and spent time with each other and their Master (who it turns out was far more interested in them than in their trees). As they continued to water the fields, grass began to spring up between their trees, and flowers started to grow. As time went on the orchard began to look more and more like a beautiful park, and it was not uncommon for visitors to the area to not even realize it was, in fact, a harvest-producing orchard. They simply enjoyed the shade of its trees, smelled the flowers, and enjoyed moments of rest. Some enjoyed it so much that they too joined in the harvest labor, and the orchard-turned-garden continued to expand forever.
The End
“but one thing is necessary…..”
Luke 10:42
Stephen Fulton 