I have been thinking about those avocado plants as I have been thinking about my eternal life…
A few months ago, my children ate an avocado. When they had finished eating it, they started thinking about how much they liked avocado. And they decided that they would want to grow their own avocado tree so that they would be able to eat avocado as often as they would like.
The first step was to research how to get an avocado seed to germinate. Then they needed to understand how to maintain the seedling so that they would be able to keep it alive to the point when it would be safe to plant it in the ground.
And so, they prepared the seed and placed it in a cup of water as instructed and cared for it for three months while it grew. Because they set this up during the winter months it was important that they did not send it outside because the cold and frost would have killed the plant entirely.
Finally, after several months of growing on the kitchen bench the plant was ready to send outside. And so, we went and collected soil and pots and got things sorted for that avocado. Eventually it would need to go into the ground, but it was not yet ready, and so it will spend some time in the pots…
And so, I have been thinking about those avocado plants as I have been thinking about my eternal life…
You see, my soul is like that seedling. Grace is the fruit of suffering. And that is like the avocado fruit. It is nice to eat and nice to have. And so, when I eat that fruit, I think to myself that I would like to get more of it… That means that like I receive further Grace from God, I need to think about how to get it. And this is an investment. And just as this means that we need to plant the seed and grow it and look after it (and gradually prepare it for the soil), so too does God nurture the seed of my faith.
Instead of just dumping the seed into the ground and expecting it to grow, God keeps me safe. He waits until I am ready. He starts with a bit of water in a cup and then, as the seed of my faith begins to germinate, he prepares me to be present in the world. Later, He ensures that I am stable in my faith and then pushes me a little further. And eventually, I am ready for the earth itself.
And that is when God leaves me in the Earth so that I can take root and grow into the tree that I am supposed to be.
And eventually that means that I am able to be prepared and ready for my God. For after all, the whole point of this world is to be able to prepare myself for Heaven… And how lucky am I that my God is preparing me for that!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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