Why don’t we see people carrying bundles of broccoli down the aisle?

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Yes, the “plant parables” have gotten me thinking…

According to these parables, God’s "seed" and "weeds" look the same. These represent people – those who know the Lord, and those who have not cultivated a relationship with Him. But, when we look at actual plants – are there some that are good or bad – can we tell? - do we treat “good” and “bad” plants equally?

Since we can only see the parts of a plant that are above the ground, we are easily misled to the plants’ true nature. Plants more commonly carried in a wedding than broccoli, like Calla lilies,or Hydrangeas, are actually poisonous! When you think about it, the flowering part of a plant is rarely indicative of what is the true purpose of the plant. Just looking at a plant, we can not know whether it’s good or bad to touch, smell or eat, until we dig a little deeper. Some plants, like Broccoli, kiwi, and avacado have rough outsides, but have the very best things on the inside. Just the same, we can only see each other skin and out.

Though out the Bible – God tells us to look past appearance.  When God was selecting David from his brothers to be king – even though he did not have the appearance of a king, the Lord said, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

And God is looking for hearts that seek Him.  So, we won't know while we are on Earth who is a weed or one of God’s seeds.  We do have the Bible - which is living and actively discerning truth in our lives.  So, we should all be seraching God's truth each day - and praying for Him to reveal His truth and love and grace to us - which is often beyond what we alone are able to see in the World.

I just might make an arrangement of broccoli and spinach to remember to look past appearances today!