I'm not much of a gardener. I love having a garden of flowers and fruit and veg but I've been a bit lazy this year, and so have the gardeners by all accounts. But somehow interesting stuff always grows, just a few seeds strewn here and there; by the birds more often than not; and up come the flowers and the tomatoes. Or maybe some of the seeds lay dormant in the ground from last year.
It's always amazing how in the middle of the Bahrain desert, in areas that have lain barren for years, suddenly, after a heavy rainfall, life will spring up out of the arid ground. Beautiful desert flowers will appear and then tall reeds will surround a glassy newly formed lake and before you know it, hey presto, we have an oasis - well almost....
How things grow has always fascinated me. I remember at my primary school when I was about 10 years old, we planted lots of apple trees around the perimeter. I listened fascinated as my teacher explained which trees had to be planted where because of cross-pollination. Then when I was planning to buy some fruit trees for our first house there was again, much discussion about all the different varieties and how to cross pollinate in order to produce the best crop yields. The act of cross pollination occurs through various means of pollen transference, the honey bee, birds and the wind being the most common and although with the best laid plans we can increase the chances of cross pollination by positioning trees of specific varieties in close proximity, there is always a chance that one tree's pollen may be carried far and wide on the wind, even across the seas.
Since living in the Middle East I hadn't thought about such complex fruity matters at all until recently. It was quite unexpected when it occurred to me during a recent church service that cross pollination is a great model to apply to the wider church as a whole. In our church Rivers of Joy we've been blessed with three engagements over the past two months and it was on the engagement of the daughter of one of our own members Vinu Thomas Koshy to a young man from another church NEC's English Language Congregation that I had a clear vision of cross pollination. A wonderful transference of the pollen of one tree to another. This was clearly going to be a marriage that would bring cross pollination between our churches.
The vision of each church being like a different tree bearing its own variety of fruit filled me with excitement. Our fruitful differences should be celebrated and used to bless each other for, as it says in the Word of God;
"Our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad."
No matter how far apart the churches would be, metaphorically and geographically speaking, the Holy Spirit will carry out His own special cross pollination using us, His ambassadors, to transfer the vital pollen from one tree to another, crossing continents, breaking down cultural boundaries and bridging the gap between denominations. At a time where focus is so often on our differences rather than our commonalities we need to embrace every opportunity for cross pollination as in some cases it's almost as if the hand and the foot are no longer joined to the rest of the body. My prayer is that through the power of the Holy Spirit we will re-unite even the most disparate parts of body of Christ.
Yes, we all have our home churches and this is not to say that we should flit from tree to tree like a honey bee but that we should always base ourselves in the tree where God has placed us. As well as being the vessels for cross pollination we are also in part, the blossom which produces the pollen which over time produces the blessed fruit of the tree. Pollen is seasonal and is a by product of the beautiful blossom, just as we are here on earth for a mere season in eternity.
Looking back on the idea of bees, birds and wind as the main contributors in cross pollination it came to me that the bees are the workers, the people of the church, the pastors and indeed all of us, can ensure the future of cross pollination between the churches, the denominations and indeed the cultures. The birds are those of us who travel to other countries on mission trips and even just holiday visits who take the time to share their "pollen" with the wider body of believers across the world. The wind, however, is like the supernatural ability of the Holy Spirit who blows and sows the pollen from one distant land to another thus creating a new and exotic fruit for the future. A fruit that focuses on a combination of the importance of our shared belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and the rich diversity of our origins.
Dear Lord,
I thank you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that we are all created in your image to love and worship you as the way, the truth and the life. Thank you for diversity, thank you for making us all so different and for giving us the opportunity to live alongside those of different cultures and experiences that we may grow in the knowledge of your body and your Kingdom. I ask that you will send your Holy Spirit to nurture our tolerance and patience towards other believers and to always allow your love and grace to fill our hearts and minds so that we can be effective vessels for building your Kingdom.
In Jesus' Name
Amen
Looking back on the idea of bees, birds and wind as the main contributors in cross pollination it came to me that the bees are the workers, the people of the church, the pastors and indeed all of us, can ensure the future of cross pollination between the churches, the denominations and indeed the cultures. The birds are those of us who travel to other countries on mission trips and even just holiday visits who take the time to share their "pollen" with the wider body of believers across the world. The wind, however, is like the supernatural ability of the Holy Spirit who blows and sows the pollen from one distant land to another thus creating a new and exotic fruit for the future. A fruit that focuses on a combination of the importance of our shared belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and the rich diversity of our origins.
Dear Lord,
I thank you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that we are all created in your image to love and worship you as the way, the truth and the life. Thank you for diversity, thank you for making us all so different and for giving us the opportunity to live alongside those of different cultures and experiences that we may grow in the knowledge of your body and your Kingdom. I ask that you will send your Holy Spirit to nurture our tolerance and patience towards other believers and to always allow your love and grace to fill our hearts and minds so that we can be effective vessels for building your Kingdom.
In Jesus' Name
Amen
