This word is mentioned many times in the Bible. FRUIT.
Real one in the Garden of Eden, symbolic fruit being the children of men, bad and good fruit symbolizing bad and good deeds and thoughts.
Biblical symbolism takes advantage of the way of life known to people of the time the Scriptures were written. That is understandable. One can wonder what metaphors would be used if we had the priviledge of having the inspired authors among us. Cars? Pollution? Tsunamis? Or walk on the Moon? Who knows...
To think about it - one may argue that the language of the Bible is archaic, that the situations described there do not match our lives and our world. Well, one may argue a lot, and we know that people do. They deny various facts on the simple basis of Scriptures' antiquity and impossibility of verification. There is a lot of ill-will in such kind of approach.
But I think that this old language and simplicity of life as we see it on the pages of the Bible is in its favor, because it makes it possible to be understood by many cultures, many nations, many stages of development of humanity. And by all ages, from small children to old people alike.
Show me a person who does not understand what fruit is. It would be hard, wouldn't it? What a beautiful simile, fruit is everywhere to be found, everybody likes fruit (opposite to veggies), fruit is something we are very positive about, and the expression "bad fruit" is hence extremely powerful. To enforce negativity on something positive by nature gives an unforgettable meaning to the word and to the deed described by it.
* What fruit do I bear?
* What kind of tree am I?
* What is the Divine Gardener going to do with
me when I get older? Just cut my branches a bit?
* Or throw me into fire of damnation?
* Is my fruit palatable to those I love and those who love me?
* Is my fruit of value to those who bear none?
* How long am I to last in the garden?
Psa 1:1-6 (1) Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. (5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. (6) For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Has it escaped your attention? The new season is about to begin, while we are still watching three last parts of season 2. Here in Sweden, that is.
I really do not know what to think. In the beginning it was quite simple and obvious, but as the time and plot were progressing and developing, everything was getting more and more complex and entangled into a crazy (un)reality of immense proportions.
Who is lost? Are the characters in the series more lost than their viewers? Or less lost? What is really going on, there, on the island? Are they on an island? Or are they somewhere else? Or maybe all this is only a dream - a nightmare - a joke?
Undoubtedly more and more cruelty and evil is being revealed with every coming part.
By the way - why is it ALWAYS the same old and proven pattern: to start from a relatively neutral level of "normality" and "averageness", and then go towards meeting the crazy, the deranged, the abnormal, the more the better, to finally bathe in blood for the sake of gaining new audiences...
Have we become so bloodthirsty that we get bored watching casual people? Must there always be extremely much blood and gore to make us interested? To keep us watching? To cause us return to the screen one week later?
Human nature, right?
But a Christian should remember these words:
And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins, wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest: - but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:1-10)
Therefore I must put this subject of watching the series under deep scrutiny according to God's Word. Anything else would be against my conscience.
20 years of active political life. Engaged, devoted, faithful, truly a good worker for his party.
Left at the roadside after the elections, not chosen again, alone, forgotten, uncared for, disappointed, disillusioned.
He thinks he was treated unjustly, he feels sadness and sorrow, he knows that all his past efforts shall soon be forgotten.
Now what can he hope for if he pursues his political career? The next four years of life in oblivion, in the shadows of his fine past achievements, in order to run for his lost position again, without having the least certainty whether somebody remembers him or cares enough.
That is, in a nutshell, the situation of somebody I know. Any comfort to offer? Not really, because if an idea becomes your whole life, you are dead the minute it is taken from you.
I could only sit and listen, murmuring some 'okay' occasionally, smiling friendly and being there.
Look how deceptive the things of this world are, how they catch a person and entice his mind and heart, just to spit him out when he is no longer needed or attractive enough for the cause...
This happens all the time. I have seen it so many times, it no longer surprises me, but it still makes me sad. And the more sad I get, the better I realize that there is a cure, a lasting comfort, an indestructible idea, an imperishable solution and goal in life, to be found in God.
Sounds presumptuous, but is true.
If you rely on a man, you get the treatment from a man. You are left to a man's whims and humors, and there is no security in those. But:
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
(2Co 1:3-4)
No, it is not about the relativity theory by Albert Einstein. This is about the relativity theory by ann_in_grace. My relativity theory is much more complicated than the first one mentioned, though I cannot present any mathematical formula for it.
This is the simple relativity of time for a full-time working mother and wife :)
I discovered that the more I have to do, the more gets done, and the same is true for the opposite, regretfully. The less I sleep, the better my life is organized - until I collapse on a Saturday afternoon...
But seriously now:
Time is a strange monster. Impossible to tame, impossible to time, surrounds us and accompanies us from the womb to the grave. How much time do you have, how much time do you use for this, for that, how much time do you waste, how much time do you kill...
How much time would you like to have?
This last question is dangerous. How much is too much? What we want is endless, healthy, happy and fulfilled, yet what we get is limited, burdened with illnesses, miserable and unsatisfying. Why are we gifted with dreams about endless, healthy, happy and fulfilled? Is it possible that those dreams can be real?
Of course not - is the answer given by a humanist/evolutionist/atheist. You are born and you die, that's all that is to it. Use the time given to you the best you can, make yourself happy and accept the inevitable with dignity. You are a product of an incredibly rare chain of coincidences, but still there is no deeper sense to your existence.
Would you be satisfied with this answer? I would not...
In my relativity theory there is this earthly time, limited and enclosed between my birth and my death, and then there is the eternal time with God, the very endless, healthy, happy and fulfilled.
In fact, this earthly time is but a second compared to this eternal time. Makes one willing to wait, right?
So Christian, do not be afraid. You have plenty of time ahead of you. Whole eternity in the Glory of Your Savior.
And the formula is: By Grace through Faith, not by works.
Praise The Lord.
Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. (Psa 89:47-48)
It is very seldom I find a writer whose books make me completely nourished. While I was swallowing novels when I was young, I changed my interests towards documentaries and biographies lately.
So it was a big surprise to me to find Outlander Series captivating, exciting, accurate historically, passionate, living, written in such a way that it was impossible to put the books away. The part I read first was a book bought by a complete accident, on a book sale, and it was "Fiery Cross". I remember reading it and wondering, what it was about really, on page 90 I still was lost and had no idea who these people were. Odd to say the least :). I then did a simple research and found out that this was part 5 of the series. Well, no wonder I did not understand! But I got through the book, though, and found it appealing to such extent that soon I owned all the other four parts, to read them in a proper order.
The one in the picture is part six, the latest one, the best so far.
18th century Scotland and America are so alive in those books, that one almost smells the smells, sees the sights, hears the voices, and lives the lives of the characters. It is hard to believe that this is fiction. But if you want to get to know the history of the period, as presented against the everyday life and custom - seek no further. Gabaldon does it masterly, sparing no detail, making her reader participate in the story, giving you goose bumps as you read along.
My fascination with history got lots of inspiration through the series. Scotland of the period is extremely tempting to explore in the near future, specifically Highlands. I shall see if a North Carolina trip is in there for me.
But...
And here it comes, there seems always to be a big BUT for a Christian. I would not recommend those books. Why? Because there is Celtic pagan occult, there are witches, there is traveling in time, mixed with Bible, and some superficial treatment of faith when describing Presbyterians and Catholics. It is faithful to historical facts, of course, but the occult side of it scares me a bit.
Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. (Jer 27:9-10)
