disparate appearances

1 Cor. 15:35-38 (The Message Bible)

"Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" Ifyou look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant.

There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different."

We think in terms of "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," or "chip off the old block," or "the spittin' image." We assume and anticipate that the fruit will look much like the fruit it came from. Personally, I've never considered that the fruit I see at the end is the very same exact fruit all along the way. The DNA abides in it and blueprints its entire maturation and lifespan. Its essence is always there.

What I haven't considered is the seed that comes from the fruit being in essence the future fruit itself. It is though! Just like this verse says though, we couldn't guess what the fruit would look like based on the seed. Likewise, I can't guess what the fruit of my words or actions would look like based on what they are because I can't factor in the variables of the soil, the lives, into which they are cast. Some of us are sowers, some are nourishers, some are reapers. We have no idea what our fruits will look like based on what's happening right here in this moment.