I don’t know about you but when I see those first young green bean pods form I’m filled with the anticipation of a garden-fresh meal where I can feast on the season’s new harvest. The first plate of green beans is a delicious way to reward myself for the all the vigorous work and faithful tending I’ve done to get to this point. But, imagine if with every crop you grew you gave away the very first of each harvest to someone else instead of eating it yourself. Now think about this: The concept of first fruits really means giving of yourself BEFORE the harvest. This isn’t a sacrifice, it’s an anticipation of WHAT’S NEXT! – The promises of God.
WHAT ARE FIRST FRUITS?
Well in the most basic and obvious sense it is the very first produce of everything you grow. Often that fruit is “premium”. Jennifer Poindexter in her article, 10 Tips to Harvest Your Garden Vegetables Perfectly and on Time, says, “It is best to pick produce when it’s small. This is the time most vegetable varieties are at their most tender, have better flavor, and haven’t developed as many seeds.” She identifies an additional gardening outcome to harvesting those first fruits, “if you pick your plants when they first ripen it encourages the plants to produce more in most cases.” That means when those small undeveloped beans get a bit larger harvesting them can result in a full sink soon after and many plates of generous servings.
Be prepared to give God your first fruits before it ripens. Let’s be honest, you’re going to put a good amount of work into each of your crops. There is tilling, planting, watering, weeding, fertilizing, thinning and more. You’re going to watch those seeds sprout, grow, bloom and mature. By the time those first fruits are ready to be harvested you are more than ready to taste and see that the Lord is good. Here are some ways to give of your first fruits:
- Invite some people (especially children) to come to your garden and pick the first fruits. It’s a powerful way for them to discover the miracle of growing vegetables at a very pivotal stage in the growing process.
- Host a small fellowship dinner featuring these first fruits with family, friends, co-workers, classmates, neighbors or those you are mentoring.
- If your church or some other church offers the typical coffee and donuts before a morning church service, speak with the pastor well in advance of the first fruits so that church attendees will be anticipating the savory harvest as part of the service.
- Take your first fruits to a facility that cares for people who are older, disabled, homeless, ill or something else. This is one of the most powerful ways for first fruits to minister the love of God to others.
These are just a few ideas. Seek God (before the first fruits ripen and are harvested), let God’s Spirit guide you, have a plan and then follow through with it.
THE SPIRITUAL ASPECTS OF GIVING GOD YOUR FIRST FRUITS
This isn’t about “If I do this then God will do that” it is about joyously and generously being obedient to God. It is a focus on and commitment to God. It is an eagerness and longing to be in communion with Christ.
The literal Old Testament definition is: A promise to come
The literal New Testament definition is: A beginning sacrifice
According to What was the firstfruits offering at GotQuestions.org, Firstfruits symbolizes God’s harvest of souls, it illustrates giving to God from a grateful heart, and it sets a pattern of giving back to Him the first (and the best) of what He has given us. Not being under the Old Testament Law, the Christian is under no further obligation than to give cheerfully and liberally (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
John Hagee explains, that, “God must be first.” The Bible is clear that we’re to seek God FIRST. Listen to his full message, on Spotify. He digs deeply into the spiritual perspectives of first fruits
A first fruits mindset is just one way that making Jesus Christ central to your gardening lifestyle makes it more robust and transformational. Gardening is rewarding, relaxing, productive, healthy … on and on. It has many benefits and rewards. BUT, when your gardening lifestyle is continually reflecting on God, led buy His Spirit and energized by your joy and hope in Christ then on top of all the usual benefits of gardening you’ll find it produces even greater spiritual fruit both now and for eternity.
A FIRST FRUITS APPROACH TO CHURCH GARDEN MINISTRY
The biblical concept of first fruits inspires Christians in the gardening lifestyle. Indeed, one church, Avon Christian Church in Avon, Indiana has used it to name their gardening ministry, First Fruits Garden. Their ministry is designed to encourage community gardens to grow, produce, and cultivate a sharing spirit. The FFG model encourages garden growers to donate 10 percent of their produce to local food pantries, in reference to the idea of tithing in the Bible.
