Have you ever shucked elderberries?
Most people haven't.
They are tiny (think peppercorn) sized berries, with a tart taste and deep purple juice. Locating an elderberry bush is hard to do, but finding someone that knows how to shuck, or has the patience to do it, is rare.
My Papa did. In his khaki workpants and white undershirt, every year he would pick berries and then sit for hours and thumb them off the stems into a shallow pan. Then my Gramma would perform her end of the bargain, and work those elderberries into a delicious pie. There is nothing more delicious than elderberry pie, especially if your childhood drips with the memories of it.
One who is faithful in a very
little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is
also dishonest in much. ~Luke
16:10
As I sat and shucked elderberries last night for over an hour and half (I only yielded 3 cups of berries!), I had time to think. They are such teensy berries, and yet the time allotted to harvesting them proves big rewards. There are no short-cuts to getting them off the stems. The internet may say otherwise, but Papa knew only one way, and I have tried the "tricks" and they never pan out.
I realized that shucking elderberries is a lot like living for Jesus. It takes time. It takes devotion. Also, you have to get active at the necessary times. Elderberries are only ripe for picking during a short window. Pick too early, and they are not yet plump and juicy, and procrastinate too long, and the birds have already feasted on your would-be pie berries, or they cover the grass below in a blotchy purple blanket.
The picking and cleaning of elderberries is a nice metaphor for our faith-walks each day. One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. ~Luke 16:10
Each day we wake up and have a million tiny-tasks and decisions and choices to make. From what to wear to how to greet a child or spouse.
If we are faithful in these very little things, we will also be faithful in much. But faith is only born, incubated and grown when we start with the little things. Indeed, faith is never just "a pie that is miraculously pulled from the oven" (if you will). We must put in the time of picking, cleaning, and preparing the berries (ourselves and our choices!), and then the Lord makes something beautiful out of us and our faithfulness in the little things.
And as I continued shucking the berries, my brain stepped back and looked at life through the wide-lens, and I came to the (possible?) truth that all of life is very little things. We tend to blow things up into big-deals, but the reality is, if we just "focus on our berries" (if you will), and pay attention to one person at a time, one conversations at a time, one decision at a time: we can handle life fairly cleanly, and with a clear perspective and in a sound mind. When we get distracted, or try to "shuck a million berries at once" (if you will), then things get messy. Overwhelming. We might even cause stains that won't go away because of our lack-of-focus on the task/person/situation at hand.
One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. ~Luke 16:10
It was never the Lord's intention for us to be burdened with the weights of worry and responsibility that many of us carry around. (Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you. ~1 Peter 5:7). We can give that all to Him, and we can refocus on being faithful in a very little. Just for today, boil it all down for yourself. Just think about the task at hand, the person at hand. The prayer at hand. Shuck your berries one at a time. Life is much easier to handle this way, and from these concentrated and purposeful efforts come bigger responsibilities that we will be ready for, because we were confident and not overwhelmed or distracted in completing the very little things. God will see our faithful(ness) in a very little and He will move forward with us being faithful in much.
And the warning of temptation is also embedded in this verse: "and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." ~Luke 16:10. There are no short-cuts to shucking elderberries and there are no short-cuts in our faithfulness and honesty to God either. The Lord's scales are fair and they are balanced in supreme honesty. We often mistakenly console our guilt of sin by comparing ourselves to other people, and if we feel that we have made better choices than them, then we feel vindicated, even though we have not done what is right. But we cannot be misled or fooled by our own self-focused mirages. There is no fooling God. If we are dishonest in a very little, He knows that we will also (be) dishonest in much. Lord, help me to be honest with myself and honest with You. You are Holy, and You are Truth. Let us live honest lives in service to You.
I wish that today we could sit on the front porch and share in a slice of elderberry pie together. But until we meet in Heaven one day and do (I am sure there will be front porches and elderberry pie up there), just for today, let's be faithful in the little things. It will lead to our faithfulness in bigger things.
One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. ~Luke 16:10
Blessings,
sarah
https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com
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