The saying, One bad apple...
Illustration
The saying, "One bad apple spoils the whole bunch," isn't always true. Nik is an avid gardener. Along with a large vegetable garden he also has a variety of fruit trees. Several summers ago, Nik invited me out to inspect his trees. One tree in particular was to be the object of our tour. Up on the limbs of this tree, hundreds of tiny pears were forming. As I looked closer, I saw that about one in four of the pears were blighted, shriveled, or rotting on the branch. It seemed that some fungus had invaded the tree.
"Will you have to cut down the tree?" I asked.
"Possibly," he replied. "First though, I will treat it with a special nontoxic fungicide, and see what happens. I think the tree will be fine once the fungus is treated. I can save it."
It took careful and persistent work on Nik's part, but I am happy to say, the tree is fine and the fruit it is bearing this year is fine.
Paul asks, "If we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin?" No. We, like the pears of Nik's tree, need treatment (forgiveness) but the tree to which we cling (Jesus) is just fine.
-- Becker 2
"Will you have to cut down the tree?" I asked.
"Possibly," he replied. "First though, I will treat it with a special nontoxic fungicide, and see what happens. I think the tree will be fine once the fungus is treated. I can save it."
It took careful and persistent work on Nik's part, but I am happy to say, the tree is fine and the fruit it is bearing this year is fine.
Paul asks, "If we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin?" No. We, like the pears of Nik's tree, need treatment (forgiveness) but the tree to which we cling (Jesus) is just fine.
-- Becker 2
