First, it didn't cost us anything, as it came as a free offer after we drank several bottles of apple juice! And as many of you know, I love free offers.
Then I learned that it produces enormous apples, in relatively small quantities.
This year, which is its fourth fruiting year, 12 or 13 apples have made it to maturity.
About 8 weeks ago, having tested whether any was ready to pick, the stalk of one apple gave way, and I shared the huge fruit with Betty.
Last week, a second one was ready for picking.
But the rest are still on the tree, with stalks that are strong, and the apples are getting redder & redder, and looking more wonderful every day.
But having had the first of the harvest, I am confident that the rest will be fine.
Which takes me to an astonishing observation from St. Paul.
'Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.' (1 Corinthians 15.22-23)
Paul knows that our mortality, which goes back to our human origins, is something we cannot escape. However, because Jesus died and rose again, and that was well known, even in Corinth, that has major implications for us with our own mortality.
Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
Now I don't know when Jesus will come back, but if you or I die before that grand finale, we can be completely confident that our own resurrection is assured by Jesus' resurrection. The best of it is that the rest of us will receive transformed, immortal bodies, in which everything works perfectly, and nothing ever wears out.
The first apple from the tree demonstrates that the harvest is healthy and the rest will follow. And that is the best news we could have on any wet Monday you may like to choose!
Best wishes,
Richard
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