Seedless Watermelons...

Up until about 50 years ago Seedless Watermelons didn't exist. All watermelons had seed inside them, which you had to wrestle through and spit out on those hot summer days. 

Did you know, a single watermelon contains about 600 seeds, each of which can create a new watermelon vine? And a single watermelon vine can grow up to three watermelons at a time! 

That means one watermelon can potentially create 600 vines, and the 600 vines can produce 1800 watermelons in one single season. Now that's a lot of watermelon!

About 50 years ago scientists learned how to remove the seed property by using a drug called Colchicine (a chromosome-altering chemical) and more recently by using genetic tricks to modify their chromosomes (GMOs). Now we can enjoy delicious watermelon without having to spit out those pesky black seeds. 

But that's not how God created it, is it?

I can't help but think somewhere along the way, the church started acting like the seeds were taken out of us just like the seedless watermelon. Instead of planting seed through being God's love to others and making disciples, we relegated it to inviting others to church. We make our churches as attractional as we can with the hopes that someone we invite might come, and they might encounter God.

But aren't we supposed to be that vessel, not the church building, a program, or Sunday-morning production? We're told by Jesus Himself to "Go and Make Disciples" (Matthew 28, Mark 16), and the only parable that Jesus fully explains is the parable of the sower (Matthew 13, link below) which is about SOWING SEED. 

We can't just go to a church building to “get fed”, invite our friends, sing some worship songs, hear a good sermon, but never reproduce ourselves, or better said reproduce "disciples of Jesus" (God knows we don't need disciples of Trevor). 

A Seedless watermelon may taste good, look good, even look like the real thing, but it does not have the ability to reproduce itself. It can only grow from a single vine.

Jesus is our vine and His vine multiplies through The branches. We are His branches. Let us stay connected to the vine (Jesus) and bear much fruit for His glory through being intentional about making disciples! He alone is worthy!

Ask yourself, what kind of watermelon are you?

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5