Yesterday afternoon hubby and I had been out at the road clearing back some brush and loading up the yard waste bin.
We were headed back to put the garden tools in the garden shed, when right in front of us the deer was up on her hind legs nibbling the little baby apples on the apple tree.
We were right here. And she was directly in front of us … directly in the path where we were going.
My immediate “blink” reaction (which I blurted out to hubby) was: “Oh bummer!! I was going to take a photo of those little baby apples for a blog post. But now they’re gone. Bummer!”
The deer didn’t stay long at her nibbling, since we were headed right towards her on our way to the garden shed. She moseyed on … and I stopped to survey the damage.
Much to my great surprise, the apples had not been harmed at all. Yay!
Here you can see them … little baby apples.
I had first noticed these little baby apples on the tree last week, and the verse instantly popped into my mind where Jesus had said: Learn the lesson from the fig tree … when it puts forth its fruit you know that the harvest is near.
I just now looked up the verse. It is Matthew 24:30-33:
“At that time the sign of the Son of Man [this is Jesus!] will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man [this is Jesus!] coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”
The above passage speaks of learning from the fig tree that summer is near. Here in the Pacific Northwest, summer still has not arrived! Yesterday morning and this morning we woke up to 45 degrees. We are all still wearing our coats … while the rest of the country is sweltering in 90 degree temps, and wearing shorts & t-shirts.
So I guess the Pacific Northwest example of the “Lesson of the fig tree” … would in fact be to look at the apple tree with the little baby apples. When you see the little baby apples on the tree, you know that the harvest is near.
Or in other words … when we see the world falling apart around us, we know that the end of all things is near! The “harvest of the end of all time” is near!
When we see evil advancing at an alarming pace! … when we see people being deceived at a staggering rate! … when we see wars wrecking devastation globally … when we feel the rumblings of civil war within our own country … Jesus says: “See to it that you are not alarmed.” – Matthew 24:6
These are only “little baby apples on the apple tree” … letting you know that “the harvest at the end of all time” is near!
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. … At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” – Matthew 24:7-12
We are seeing these very things in the world all around us. These are “little baby apples on the apple tree.” The “harvest” is near. Jesus’s coming is very soon!
“No one knows the day or the hour [of the coming of the Son of Man], not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; … then the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” – Matthew 24:36-39
I had seen the little baby apples on the apple tree last week … and at that time I had meant to take a photo for this blog post. But I had waited. I had waited for a better time.
Then … when I least expected it … the deer was there, standing up on her hind legs, nibbling the apples! And in that moment, all I could think of was: Gone! The opportunity to take the photo of the baby apples was gone!!
So also, this is very much the same way people respond to Jesus and his offer of salvation and forgiveness of sin.
Many people have heard about Jesus. They know that Jesus came from Heaven to Earth to pay the penalty for sin that they owe to God. They know that the only thing they need to do to receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life is to believe in Jesus.
But they wait.
They don’t make a decision about Jesus. They wait “for a better time.”
But you can’t always count on tomorrow.
When you least expect it, the opportunity will be gone!
“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” – 2 Corinthians 6:2
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.” – Hebrews 3:7-8
“See to it that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the Living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is call Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. … Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.” – Hebrews 3:12-15
