The Seasons of Life

By Andrew Beasley     As we have moved beyond Thanksgiving and into the Christmas season I think about a story I once heard. It went something like this. There was a man who had four sons and he wanted to teach them not to judge to quickly. So he sent them on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in the summer and the last in the fall. When they had all come back from their respective journey he called them together to recount to him what they had seen.     The first said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted. A moment later the second son spoke up and disagreed, saying that the tree was green and full of promise. The third son then chimed in, likewise disagreeing and describing the tree as one that was full of sweet smelling blossoms and said it was the most beautiful tree he had ever seen. The last, unsurprisingly, also disagreed saying that the tree was ripe and drooping with fruit. When they quieted from their arguing the old man smiled and told them that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season of the trees life.     He then reminded them that they cannot judge a tree, or a person, only by one season. It is an application that we can make to our own lives. Don’t judge it by one difficult season. Don’t allow the pain of one season destroy the joy of the rest as there is a time and place for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

- Andrew Beasley serves as a minister with the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: https://nwchurchofchrist.com/about/