They are called brown crowders. I grow them every year in my garden – they are my very favorite field peas. As you can see, most of them aren’t brown but are a lovely hue of light green; pea green. When they are cooked however, they all turn a brownish color and make a thick gravy with a savor all their own that can only be described as wonderful. I cut up some Vidalia onion, bacon, and some fresh okra – also from my garden – to cook with them and voila! A “mess” of peas. The soup thickens to a delectable slime that goes marvelously with cornbread or homemade buttermilk biscuits.

While I was shelling them, some thoughts came to my aged noggin that I decided to share, for an analogy came to me that might apply to us believers. You see, these green peas right out of the shell are ok to eat as is, but with the right processing, they can become remarkably delicious – the kind of processing being the key. They must be blended with some other things and cooked to perfection. Some folks might make them differently than I do, but the point is, we do whatever is necessary to get the outcome we desire. Differing processes yield different results.

Now if those raw, newly shelled peas were people who become new believers they would obviously have to undergo some serious changes before they were ready to be put to use, just like the peas, except the processes that the Creator puts His servants through are much more meticulous and serious.

A few years ago, I took some grandkids down to one of the beautiful green water rivers here in the Ozarks. We had several people in the group with some more adults, but a bunch of kids. There are several swimming holes in that particular river and for reasons of my own, I chose to take them to a swimming hole somewhat downstream from the more popular one where most people go. One of the boys in our group really wanted to go to the other one, but I had already decided we’d be better off at the one I picked, and the kid got irate with me. He didn’t quite understand that I was the adult, we were in my vehicle, and I had my reason(s) for my decision. Although he got mad (and soon got over it) I think we both learned a lesson from the episode. Later after it was over I sort of thought of it as if he was like me trying to come to grips with decisions made by my own Higher up. Sometimes I don’t see what He has in mind; in fact, very often I don’t understand His methodology, and, like the grandkid, there are those times I’ve gotten aggravated at His ways, but in most every instance, I get around to seeing why He did what He did, although it often takes a while.

A few more pods of crowders later, I got to thinking about the example in the Bible of the potter and the clay. As the objects being molded, we have no say in the processes being utilized by the Craftsman. We simply must be transformed into whatever He desires for us to become. Now if a potter decides to spend His time making a vessel, He obviously has some notion of how He wants it to come out when He finishes with it. If it is turning out to be something special, he is doubtlessly willing to spend more time and effort in his processes. When we are being shaped, there are often times when we don’t understand why we have to undergo some of the things He allows us to experience, but the higher the expectation for the end product, the more meticulously the Potter will be to work out the stubborn lumps in the clay, and since He tells us that He is more meticulous in correcting the behavior of those He loves, we should take heart and trust His decisions because our shaping is being accomplished precisely because of His love for us. [Hebrews12:6]: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” So even though it might seem harsh or unfair at the time, He does this for our own good.

Another consideration in His methodology is that He has told us that to whom much is given, much will be expected, so if He has put a whole lot of effort into our growth, He obviously expects us to put a lot of effort into our servitude to Him. You can see how our spiritual growth determined by His effort becomes a self-sustaining loop.

Now I suppose the pertinent question would be, Why? After all, if He loves us it’s only human to think He’d cut us a little more slack, but if you think about it, that’s precisely why He allows us to undergo experiences that are less than pleasant at the time. After all, it probably gets somewhat difficult to get those imperfections out of the clay, and in the end, He wants a product that He will be proud of and that will bring Him glory! It’s about Him and not us. If that potter was to accept a vase that wasn’t beautiful, it wouldn’t be a source of joy for him. It would most likely be one of those products relegated to a less honorable use, like maybe a bed pan that stayed hidden under the bed, but God wants us to shine as a bright light that attracts others to Him through us, so He doesn’t desire to settle for imperfections in His work. Although we have for an example Jesus Christ as the perfect being we should strive to emulate, alas, as human beings in the flesh we can’t achieve such perfection until that Day when He makes us so.

So until then, try and remember that our whole purpose in this phase of our existence is to bring glory to our Master. Sometimes we might not understand why we go through the trials we do, but if we do our best to stay focused on what we are here for, His glory, we will end up hearing those words that define success for human beings – [Matthew 25:21]: “Well done, good and faithful servant!…” Then we will enter the next and final phase – Paradise and unimaginable joy in His eternal presence!

I’m so looking forward to being His end product!

May the blessings of the Almighty Father find and keep us.

MK