Early Fruits
See the series here
Joseph, a fruitful bough by a well...
(Genesis 49:22)
Early fruits from
some plants and trees should not be
harvested,
Some plants/trees
require a lengthy establishment time.
Rather, blooms or
early fruits from them should be discarded,
For these, only
harvest when the plant has reached its prime.
Does discarding early
fruits seem like a waste?
To allow these
plants to maximize growth, vegetative,
Reaping their
harvests should not be done in haste.
This helps to
ensure their long and fruitful life, productive.
1
Two astounding
dreams were early fruits in Joseph’s life,
His parents and
brothers bowing before him.
Between his
brothers and him, these dreams deepened the strife,
Triggered when Dad
favored Joseph over them.
At Joseph’s dreams,
his brothers threw hateful darts,
Then tossed his
dreams like early fruits
from some plants and trees.
from some plants and trees.
But Dad pondered
and kept the matter in his heart,
While 11 brothers
allowed hate their hearts to seize. 2
About other early
fruits in Joseph’s life we are told.
As a slave
responsible for things grand and miniscule,
He adeptly managed
his slave master’s entire household!
Then as a prisoner,
he restructured all prison rules! 3
Such great early
fruits, yet not quite ready for prime time,
Hatefully discarded
by brothers and master alike,
When reports from
or about him were caustic, like lime!
Incredible
fruitfulness discarded, made worse with strife!
Like me, to
important insights are you perceptive?
Can you see how
Joseph’s life in yours is reflective?
To early fruits in your life, were others dismissive,
Not worth
consideration? Relations divisive?
Though by some, our
early fruits aren’t championed,
Whether in apathy,
spite or jealousy,
It’s not them, but we who get to determine,
The enduring
impacts, qualitatively.
It’s our responsive
attitude to rejection,
And our ‘bounce-back-ability’
that really matters.
If we go through,
and not get stuck in affliction,
Then our fruits
discarded will serve …as fertilizers!
By rejecting
invitations to strife and bitterness,
And though the
reality of his first two dreams was delayed,
Joseph had
positioned himself for greater fruitfulness.
Voila!
His interpretations
of four later dreams were …well
displayed!
‘For who has despised the day of small
beginnings?’,
The Lord once asked of
a prophet of old. 4
Remember, your days
of mature, great harvestings,
Came from plain
seeds that most would not extol.
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2 See: Genesis 37
3 See: Genesis 39
4 See: Zechariah 4:10
