Mutualism definition: 
Mutualisms are defined as interactions between organisms of two different species, in which each organism benefits from the interaction in some way. (Biology dictionary)



Mutualism  

At the end of every winter I am convinced that the fig tree will not return with lush green leaves and purple drops of delightful delicacies.  Every year, however, I have been pleasantly surprised by the budding of new leaves on lack luster branches that seem dry and diminished of any promise of life. 

The fig tree is mentioned several times in the Bible. Many people are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve, who are described as the first man and woman, created by God. In the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve use fig leaves to cover themselves when they became aware of their “nakedness”:

“ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loin cloths for themselves.”  Genesis 2:7                     “

This reflection, however, is focused on the fig fruits and not the leaves.  We will explore important factors in the construction of the fig fruit and the relationship the construction of specific types of figs have to the act of sacrifice and the gift of salvation. 

I discovered a fig tree in the back garden several years ago.  I was reminded of scripture that included references to fig trees, however, I was not familiar with the structure of a fig tree at the time.  I had never seen figs on a tree and I was very apprehensive during my first interaction and consequent exploration of them.  When I finally decided to taste a whole fig, after a lot of research and inquiry, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted by the taste and the texture of this fruit.  The figs of this particular tree have a royal, shiny, purple hue.  



Pollinated or not pollinated, this is the question…

There are many different varieties of figs in the United States that do not require pollination.

“These days many of the fig varieties that we buy in grocery stores and at farmers markets in the US don’t require pollination…  the Calimyrna, which has a yellow-green skin and is typically sold dried, requires fig wasps for pollination. “There’s no real way to tell from the outside, but if the fig contains seeds it will have been pollinated [by a fig wasp],” says Shanahan.  
                                                     (What do you mean there are dead wasps in my figs? Francis, Ali  September 7,2022)
                                                                                                             https://www.bonappetit.com/story/figs-and-wasps




Mutual coexistence

In order to reproduce, a female wasp will crawl into a fig and lay its eggs.  The antenna and wings are broken.

“To pollinate these species, a female fig wasp, just a couple of millimeters long, forces her way into a nonedible, unripe male-behaving fig where she lays her eggs in the flowers. Along the way, her antennae snap and her wings are yanked from her body—“it’s a tight squeeze,” says Shanahan—leaving her no way out. Her wingless male offspring mate with the winged female offspring (yes, they’re sisters) before using their huge jaws to chomp tunnels through the fig that will allow the ladies to leave.

But before she bids adieu, that fertilized female wasp collects pollen from the male flowers. Then she squeezes out the engineered escape routes, leaving her brothers and mother for dead inside the fig. It’s her duty.  Out in the world, she takes flight in search of specific figs, guided by smell, in which to lay her eggs. If the female wasp enters a male-behaving fig, the process repeats identically; she sacrifices her life to further the cause. “
                                                                 (What do mean there are dead wasps in my figs? Francis, Ali  September 7,2022)
                                                                                                                https://www.bonappetit.com/story/figs-and-wasps


Our Savior, Christ Jesus, sacrificed His life for the benefit of all humankind.  

A wasp, unlike a human or "God man", as Jesus is, doesn’t have a mind to reason or deliberate, however, this action of giving up it’s life in order to provide life to offspring reflects some of the sacrificial actions taken by the Lord.

Jesus laid down His life as a sacrifice to the Father and paid the price,  once and for all, for all of our sins.  Sin separates us from God our Spiritual Father.  A remedy for sin was introduced at the Fall of man.   An animal was killed in order to provide animal skin covering for Adam and Eve.  The sacrificial death of this animal was also a temporary atonement for the sin that caused the relationship with God and humanity to be broken. 

Christ Jesus came into the world to provide a way for humanity to be reconciled to our Creator God.  His sacrificial death paid the price for all sin once and for all!.  There is nothing that we can do by ourselves to reconcile ourselves to God.  The Lord Jesus, the truth and the life, made a way for us all.


A Divine plan

Thank God for the divine plan of salvation.  The sacrifice of one has provided a way to life, in the spirit, for all humanity.  Jesus’ sacrifice is a gift of agape love that we all have the opportunity to accept.  

There is a mutual obligation created between humans and Christ Jesus.  
Jesus lived and then chose to lay His life down so that we can have life and that more abundantly. The birth of Christ Jesus, the earthly life journey and current existence by the side of the Father,  provides the way to an ongoing, mutually beneficial, coexistence with our Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning, humans fellowshipped in a sinless coexistence with God.  Jesus is the gate that leads us back to this blessed life of living, as one, with God our Creator… forever!

​


The fig is not actually a fruit. 
The fig is an inflorescence: “ a cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch in a complicated arrangement of branches.” Wikipedia.
​

 Illumination: a condition of spiritual awareness; divine illumination.

 
Spoken words program one’s spirit either for success or defeat.   Words are containers.  They carry faith or fear.  If we look at Romans 10 verse 17 it tells us that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  I firmly believe if we keep confessing the word of God in our daily conversation we in turn will receive God’s words and blessing more freely in our spirit.
 
I don’t think we should speak about satan in our daily conversation.  The more we speak about satan the more we elevate him.  We speak a lot about having power but are we using it?  Are we using it enough to get the enemy out of the way.  We sing songs like “I command you satan in the name of the Lord to take up your weapons and flee.”  But are we using God’s authority?  We sing these songs and read so many scriptures that tell us how to defeat satan and yet, when crisis occurs, most of the time, we let cowardice or fear take over.
 
The question is, who has the power over satan? The answer is us.  But when we panic that is what satan wants to see.  For example, if you have a burst pipe, what comes first… panic!  That’s what the enemy wants. The first thing we should do is pray.   If you are in control, that is what you should do. Then you should get to the water main as fast as you can and turn it off!
​
Don’t cancel your appointment.  Don’t give up. By the end of the day you will be a winner.
 
When I was in school we learned some very well-known poems, written by some famous poets. Poets like Rudyard Kipling, John Bunyon and William Wordsworth.  One that I like to quote is:
 
“Cowards die many times before their deaths. the valiant never taste of death but once.”
                                                                                                                               (Julius Ceaesar Act 2, Scene 2)
 
This is so true.  Fear and worry makes us die many times so don’t you think it’s time for us to take control and get on fire for the Lord?  Remember, God has given us the power of His Word to keep us on track for success and victory!

Mutualism definition: 
Mutualisms are defined as interactions between organisms of two different species, in which each organism benefits from the interaction in some way. (Biology dictionary)



Mutualism  

At the end of every winter I am convinced that the fig tree will not return with lush green leaves and purple drops of delightful delicacies.  Every year, however, I have been pleasantly surprised by the budding of new leaves on lack lustre branches that seem dry and diminished of any promise of life. 

The fig tree is mentioned several times in the Bible. Many people are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve, who are described as the first man and woman, created by God. In the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve use fig leaves to cover themselves when they became aware of their “nakedness”:

“ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loin cloths for themselves.”  Genesis 2:7                     “

This reflection, however, is focused on the fig fruits and not the leaves.  We will explore important factors in the construction of the fig fruit and the relationship the construction of specific types of figs have to the act of sacrifice and the gift of salvation. 

I discovered a fig tree in the back garden several years ago.  I was reminded of scripture that included references to fig trees, however, I was not familiar with the structure of a fig tree at the time.  I had never seen figs on a tree and I was very apprehensive during my first interaction and consequent exploration of them.  When I finally decided to taste a whole fig, after a lot of research and inquiry, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted by the taste and the texture of this fruit.  The figs of this particular tree have a royal, shiny, purple hue.  



Pollinated or not pollinated, this is the question…

There are many different varieties of figs in the United States that do not require pollination.

“These days many of the fig varieties that we buy in grocery stores and at farmers markets in the US don’t require pollination…  the Calimyrna, which has a yellow-green skin and is typically sold dried, requires fig wasps for pollination. “There’s no real way to tell from the outside, but if the fig contains seeds it will have been pollinated [by a fig wasp],” says Shanahan.  
                                                     (What do you mean there are dead wasps in my figs? Francis, Ali  September 7,2022)
                                                                                                             https://www.bonappetit.com/story/figs-and-wasps




Mutual coexistence

In order to reproduce, a female wasp will crawl into a fig and lay its eggs.  The antenna and wings are broken.

“To pollinate these species, a female fig wasp, just a couple of millimeters long, forces her way into a nonedible, unripe male-behaving fig where she lays her eggs in the flowers. Along the way, her antennae snap and her wings are yanked from her body—“it’s a tight squeeze,” says Shanahan—leaving her no way out. Her wingless male offspring mate with the winged female offspring (yes, they’re sisters) before using their huge jaws to chomp tunnels through the fig that will allow the ladies to leave.

But before she bids adieu, that fertilized female wasp collects pollen from the male flowers. Then she squeezes out the engineered escape routes, leaving her brothers and mother for dead inside the fig. It’s her duty.  Out in the world, she takes flight in search of specific figs, guided by smell, in which to lay her eggs. If the female wasp enters a male-behaving fig, the process repeats identically; she sacrifices her life to further the cause. “
                                                                 (What do mean there are dead wasps in my figs? Francis, Ali  September 7,2022)
                                                                                                                https://www.bonappetit.com/story/figs-and-wasps


Our Savior, Christ Jesus, sacrificed His life for the benefit of all humankind.  

A wasp, unlike a human or "God man", as Jesus is, doesn’t have a mind to reason or deliberate, however, this action of giving up it’s life in order to provide life to offspring reflects some of the sacrificial actions taken by the Lord.

Jesus laid down His life as a sacrifice to the Father and paid the price,  once and for all, for all of our sins.  Sin separates us from God our Spiritual Father.  A remedy for sin was introduced at the Fall of man.   An animal was killed in order to provide animal skin covering for Adam and Eve.  The sacrificial death of this animal was also a temporary atonement for the sin that caused the relationship with God and humanity to be broken. 

Christ Jesus came into the world to provide a way for humanity to be reconciled to our Creator God.  His sacrificial death paid the price for all sin once and for all!.  There is nothing that we can do by ourselves to reconcile ourselves to God.  The Lord Jesus, the truth and the life, made a way for us all.


A Divine plan

Thank God for the divine plan of salvation.  The sacrifice of one has provided a way to life, in the spirit, for all humanity.  Jesus’ sacrifice is a gift of agape love that we all have the opportunity to accept.  

There is a mutual obligation created between humans and Christ Jesus.  
Jesus lived and then chose to lay His life down so that we can have life and that more abundantly. The birth of Christ Jesus, the earthly life journey and current existence by the side of the Father,  provides the way to an ongoing, mutually beneficial, coexistence with our Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning, humans fellowshipped in a sinless coexistence with God.  Jesus is the gate that leads us back to this blessed life of living, as one, with God our Creator… forever!

​


The fig is not actually a fruit. 
The fig is an inflorescence: “ a cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch in a complicated arrangement of branches.” Wikipedia.





​© 2018-2023  Annette O. Brown Creations, Media. All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured by the author.

​The power of words - a short reflection.”  Annette Olivia Brown, Christian author

​
“The fiftieth year will be your Jubilee.  You are not to sow, reap what grows by itself or harvest its untended vines.  It is to be holy to you because it is the Jubilee.” Lev. 25:11

Fifty years represents the Jubilee year in scripture.  In Leviticus 25 the author, Moses, unfolds all of the instructions provided by the Lord to the Israelites for the Sabbath years and Jubilee.

“You are to count seven sabbatical years, seven times seven years so the time period of seven sabbatical years amounts to 49…The fiftieth year will be your Jubilee.” Lev 25:8.

Jubilee is a designated time, by the Lord for reset! rest and breakthrough.  It is also an opportunity to align oneself to God our Creator. 
​ 
It “dawned on me,” recently, that this is the 50th year celebration of Hip Hop!  Rappers  have shared many different messages through various genres of music in this art form.  The cultural significance of Hip Hop music is world wide.  I find it interesting that the power of the spoken word is really amplified through Hip Hop.  It is the power of words that I would like to reflect on briefly.


THE WORD

The spiritual power of God’s written word, scripture, and spoken word that is heard and/or experienced is so significant. The Lord created our very being with the word and communicates with us by His word in spirit and in truth.  The Holy Spirit was sent to provide the understanding and truth of God’s word to us

​“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” John 1:1. 


OUR WORDS

Words written or spoken are like seeds.  Words communicated to others,  for example, can build up, encourage, enlighten, provide joy and a window to great adventures.  Words can also tear down, discourage, attempt to rob one of joy, bore or instigate destruction.  

Words are like food.  We need to be mindful of what we eat and what we prepare for others to dine on.  

“For to whom much is given, of him will be much required.  And to whom men commit much, the more will they ask of him.” Luke 12:48 (NMB).

I pray that we will all increase in understanding, knowledge and mindfulness about the power of the words we use and are exposed to.




​© 2018-2023  Annette O. Brown Creations, Media. All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured by the author.

Time apart with the Holy Spirit

“…And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help  you and be with you forever—” John 14:16.

In the book of John, Chapter 14 the author recounts dialogue between the apostles and Jesus, the Christ. Included in this dialogue is a promise made by Jesus to send a helper, an advocate and guide.


We all have the ability to choose.

If you accept salvation, confessing with your heart and mind that Jesus is Lord, you are stepping into a relationship with our Heavenly Father.   (Romans 10:9).

In relationship with the Father, the advocate, the Holy Spirit, intercedes when we pray and guides us in all of our decision making.  When we set time aside to be in the presence of  God we invite His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches and guides us and leads us into all truth. Each person’s relationship is unique and the Lord provides different types and amounts of insights and revelation to each person.

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.”  John 16 :13
​
I was fascinated with an article I read in the New York Times recently. The article included a topic about “awe walks” - a mindfulness method.  Many of the methods in mindfulness are akin to the awe we should have for God’s creation.

I have experienced the benefits of pausing to meditate and use the faculties and senses provided to us to engage our surroundings.  It is so beneficial to allow our personal thoughts and concerns to be placed on pause. This type of rest is a strategic time for God’s Holy Spirit to provide us with peace and guidance.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46 v10.

As the psalmist wrote in Psalm 46, there are times that we need to make a distinct choice to be still and know God.






​© 2018-2023  Annette O. Brown Creations, Media. All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured by the author.