Strawberries are
my favorite fruit. I even love strawberry plants, for once they preached a powerful
sermon to me which I’ve never forgotten. I was on my hands and knees in my garden
pulling weeks, when suddenly I noticed something I had seen hundreds of times
before but never caught the lesson. It was the “runners” on the berry
plants. From the main vine a number of slender shoots extended like arms in
all directions. They were thin, green stems creeping along the ground, being
pushed out by that mysterious power in the mother plant. After reaching out
about 6 inches, the end penetrated the ground and developed roots. Then the
leaves of the new baby plant shot upward. All the while, before the infant plant
was able to sustain itself, it received nourishment form the parent through
the “runner.” When the new growth was fixed in the ground, the “runner”
resumed its journey and while this one plant was multiplying, there were several
others doing the same thing in different directions. I forgot all about the
weeds and saw only that mother plant sending out its runners. This caused me
to cry out, “O God, make me like those strawberries, reaching out in an
effort to multiply and bring forth fruit.”
________________________
From “Our
Daily Bread”
View more sermon illustrations for inspiration for your next message.