God’s Fruit of the Month Club
There was a sitcom in the 90’s called Everybody Loves Raymond. In one episode Raymond gives his parents what he believes to be a wonderful gift. He signs them up as members of a Fruit of the Month Club, so they will receive a fresh batch of fruit each month throughout the year.
In classic sitcom form, though, his parents are completely overwhelmed. “What are we going to do with all this fruit?” and “More is coming? EVERY MONTH?”
It’s a funny take on something that, actually, God has in mind for us.
Revelation 22:2 says, “On each side of the river grew Trees of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month; the leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.”
Pastor Jay showed us that this passage is at the end of a long arc through the Bible in which God uses the metaphor of trees to explain Kingdom truths. It begins in Genesis, when Adam and Eve hid among the trees and used leaves to cover their newly discovered shame. Now, at the other end of the Bible, we see trees overflowing with life, with fruit available in every season, leaves meant for healing instead of shame, and a God who doesn’t run out of ways to care for His people.
That’s the kind of abundance He offers. Not just one piece of fruit. Not just one flavor to choose from. But an ongoing harvest of grace, beauty, strength, and love that keeps showing up right on time.
Many people, though, still live like Adam and Eve did with those feelings of shame, convinced they need to hide from God. They don’t know about the beauty God offers when they feel they are in ashes, and the joy that is available even through times of mourning.
But we can let them know.
God’s Tree of Life doesn’t just provide for us. It has such an abundance there is enough to share. Every act of kindness, every encouraging word, every moment of peace we pass along becomes one of those healing leaves in someone else’s story.
Maybe the Fruit of the Month Club isn’t such a bad idea. Raymond’s parents panicked because they did not know what they were going to do with all that fruit. But we don’t have to. God gives us more than enough for ourselves and to pass on to others.
And the more we share it, the more we realize: His gifts will keep arriving, month after month, until we may laugh ourselves, and say, “More are coming? Every month?
Yes. And they are meant to be shared.
Reflection Questions:
• Where do I still feel tempted to “hide among the trees” instead of bringing my real self to God?
• What “monthly fruit” has God been producing in my life lately—strength, patience, joy, compassion?
• Who around me might need one of those “healing leaves” this week, and what would sharing it look like in real, simple terms?
• How can I stay rooted in God’s presence so His life continues to grow in me, even in difficult seasons?
