By MAGGIE ISHINO
A few years ago during the Sunday morning worship, I gave a children’s sermon on the subject of the apple. For the children’s sermon, it was briefer but is more detailed in this article.
It has been said the apple was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. An apple was used to basically demonstrate the four parts of the apple:
1. The Seed
There are always seeds in every apple. Without the seed, there would be no apple. The Bible represents the seeds of our lives. We read His word, plant it in our minds and hearts and then spread it to one another so that it will reap and grow. We must plant the seed so that it will not be destroyed or blown away. This is our way of witnessing our belief in God.
2. The Meat
The meat of the apple is always white no matter if the skin is red, yellow or green. White stands for purity. I can think of only one other fruit that has white meat inside it, and that is the banana and/or possibly the fig. However, the fig is loaded with seeds. We were pure when we were born and so let us strive to be pure all our lives.
3. The Skin
The skin of the apple generally comes in three colors: green, red and yellow. Some apples have “mixed” skins or different colors joined together, as some children have parents who are of a different ethnic group, as the father may be Latino and the mother Japanese. The color of skin represents the different types of people (race). The Asians represent the yellow race. The American Indians represent the red race. The Latinos represent the brown race and the Africans represent the black race. Of course, there are no brown-or-black-skin apples nor does green represent any ethnic group. We must, however, love every race since God created the different races and we are all His children.
4. The Stem
Every apple has a stem connected to it. This is set in the upper middle part of the apple. The stem is connected to the tree and stays hanging there until removed. The eyes, ears and throat are connected to each other as well as the whole body is connected to muscles, joints or whatever. Loosely speaking, children are connected to their parents, animals are connected to their owners, employees are connected to their employers. However, the most important connection is being connected daily to God.
Remember when you bite into that crunchy delicious apple or savor a slice of that warm apple pie, it was God who created this wonderful fruit.
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Maggie Ishino is a Rafu typist. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.