Blackberries have the ability to penetrate the tightest corner and smallest niche. Put them on the edge of the Redwoods and they run rampant. Berries line the roads right up to the forest’s edge. Berry walls protect the small creeks. I think I have finally found the equivalent of an English garden hedge.
One can explore the range of human behavior by watching the various pickers go about their job. Kids under the age of five aggressively compete along side grandparents for the fruit within reach. Those with the longest reach seem to have a superior edge as the easy fruit is picked early. As the week progresses the picker’s imagination in getting to the more remote fruit brings creativity and feats of engineering that would make a skilled professional proud.
It is easy to assume that a person with more college degrees or years of life would be the superior picker. If not this then at least the number of hours spent in the task would make a difference. At some level the latter is true, however everyone has equal opportunity! The youngest can pick “the” berry; find the perfect combination of size, color, and firmness as easily as the parent or grandparent.
It is often easy to feel superior because one has caught sight of God. God is available to all. God is accessible to those who failed on a major scale as easily as he is to the new and old believers. “Don’t get to feeling superior to those pruned branches down on the ground. If they don’t persist in remaining deadwood, they could very well get grafted back in. God can do that.” (Romans 11.23)
God loves each of us, fully and unconditionally.
