Fruit, storms and fried green tomatoes

Last week we had a major hail storm in Wichita. Didn’t have any damage at my house, but many cars were pounded, windows were broken out, roofs were ruined, we suffered some of all the damage that severe weather can bring. My mom called and asked if I wanted some green tomatoes. I love fried green tomatoes. Unfortunately I wasn’t going to be home that night to use them and they needed to be used right away. The storm had knocked the tomatoes off the vine. The fruit wasn’t ripe, wasn’t ready to be harvested, but an unexpected storm took the fruit off the vine early. For some of us, this didn’t make the fruit unpalatable, in fact, we looked at it as a special treat. It also didn’t render the tomato vine useless, it’s standing back up straight again reaching towards the sun covered with new tomatoes.

John 15:1-5 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

We produce fruit, it’s meant to be consumed. It’s not meant to stay on our branches. The branch needs to stay attached to the vine, it can’t produce fruit without the vine. But the fruit shouldn’t stay on the branch. It should be shared. And just because I think my fruit is a little green, who am I to judge that? If God says dip my fruit in milk and cornmeal and fry it up, than he thinks it’s ready. I just wonder if I’m holding on to my fruit and not sharing so God has sent some storms my way to knock it off the branch?