Parable of an Apple
There once was a apple farmer who had two sons, both of which loved to eat apples. They would work all day, and their father would pay them in apples. They would eat their apples and drink tea, they would laugh and joke about the events of the day. This took place day after day as the boys would work in their father’s apple orchard.
One day towards the end of the summer the apple farmer decided to do something for his sons. He offered them a deal. Because he loved his sons very much, he wanted to provide a future for them so he made them this offer. They could either choose to work each day for a basket of apples or they could work for one seed a day. If you chose the basket of apples, you could do what you wished with them. If you chose the seed, you could not have apples, but the farmer would help you plant that seed and teach you how to start your own orchard.
One of the farmer’s sons was wise, the other foolish. The foolish son chose to eat his fill of apples every day. The wise son chose the seed. He planted the seed with his father, the farmer. As they were planting the seed, his father would explain that he had chosen well that there are few things on earth as powerful as a seed. The wise son asked “How can a seed be powerful? It’s small and can be crushed or thrown away or even put it in a compost pile.” The farmer told his son “Son, inside this one simple seed is a whole orchard.” He went on to explain to his son that all he needed was a seed and a little faith and a little trust. He would need faith to see the tree fully grown and trust that would help him to keep watering the seed even when he could see no progress. The wise son would run out to see if the seed had grown out of the ground. Every day he would leave the site disappointed.
The time at the end of the day had changed because of the choices both sons had made. The wise son spent the time after work caring for his seeds. The foolish son would eat his Apples and make fun of his brother caring for his seeds. This took place month after month, year after year. This was a very, very, very long time to wait so long he had to wait 5 christmases and 5 summers until he ate his first Apple. Even though waiting was very hard, he had something his brother did not have he had his very own orchard.
The wise son succeeded because he had faith to see his orchard before it existed and trust that they would grow in time. All because he saw a simple helpless seed as valuable.
- Discuss the questions provided in the blue section.
- Pray this prayer –
Lord Jesus, help us to trust you in all things. We need your help to see the value of the small and the helpless. Help us to see the value and the potential in every human life. Help us to do all we can through your power to save those who are lost for your glory. Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How to explain the Parable of a Apple to your kids.
- What did the wise son do?
- What did the foolish son do?
- What did both the wise and the foolish son both love?
- Why was the apple seed so powerful?
- Explain to your kids that people that want to do abortions, which is to kill babies before they are born, don’t hate kids. They just don’t understand the power of a seed. They are foolish because they think the things that they have are more valuable than the potential and the promise in each unborn baby.
- Both the wise and the foolsh son loved apples, but the difference was that the wise son did everything he could to protect the seed because he knew the seed had value before it ever made its first apple.
- Tell your kids about how before we were born God knew us and planned out our life for us. He sees within each of us potential that we could never realize without his help.
- Read Psalm 139:13-18 and Jeremiah 1:5-8
Wow, such wisdom from God put into a kid's language. Thanks for sharing, samluce!
Do you honestly think that all woman who have had abortions are foolish because they think the things that they have are more valuable than the potential and the promise in each unborn baby. You are generalizing all woman who have abortions into this category, you don't know why or what the circumstances. Just because a woman decides to do this does not mean she is foolish, you may not know all that went into the decision or what she was going through at that time. I understand that everyone has a right to an opinion and respect that, but what is funny is that if someone has an opposite opinion of what you say regarding this topic it will not be truly heard by you. The funny thing is I use to be for abortion, I am no longer for it due to a personal experience and a change of heart, but you come across as you are discipining all woman who have had abortions, and are not forgiving. This is not what my hear tells me Church is.
Dear anonymous,
I was not trying to trivialize abortion at all nor the women affected. I was trying to magnify the fact that when God created mankind he said it is good. I believe life begins at conception. I believe abortion is wrong and pray for the day it no longer exists, because I believe all life is precious to God.
I love your analogy. I was a lot more blunt with my son a few years ago (http://differentway4kids.blogspot.com/2011/01/explaining-abortion-to-my-son.html), but I think that is his and my personalities.
Is there a third, smarter son who figured out he could eat the apples and then use the seeds of those apples to make even more trees? That was a dumb story.