One part of our Sabbath School program is the “Object Lesson.” The leader comes prepared with a tangible item from which to gain spiritual insights. Jesus used object lessons in His teaching as well. I believe that God has given us limitless opportunities for learning life lessons from nature. Here is one I really like because it involves one of my favorite fruits—the banana.

1. Bananas only grow in a warm climate. Likewise, gospel truth will only grow and spread in a loving environment. “But speaking the truth in love, [Christians] may grow up into Him in all things which is the head, even Christ” (Eph. 4:15). Our new converts get excited about the truths they are learning, but they sometimes unwittingly drive people away by pointing out their errors instead of showing a spirit of love.

2. New banana stalks come up by underground roots that spread out from a main stalk. We can’t see how God is working in people’s hearts, but they are influenced by our lives as we preach, teach and live God’s word.

3. The banana fruit appears suddenly after the flower. We have moments in our experience when it seems that our labor is in vain. For a long time we only see leaves and no bananas. But God sends a flower to remind us that fruit is coming. It just needs time to grow and mature. And, when the time is right, the harvest can be so great that we need help carrying it.

We are praying “the Lord of the harvest, that He [will] send forth laborers” into [this] harvest of the Gogodala. (Luke 10:2). Thank you for joining us in this prayer.

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