Green Tomatoes
I love family devotions.
80% of the time it's a normal routine that is navigated without too much fuss, and I leave with a sense that I did my duty as a father and faith that God is working in my children through His word. 10% of the time I am wondering how in the world I can maintain sanity as I deal with owies, attitudes, and royal meltdowns.
But then there's the other 10%. That 10% that keeps me going. That 10% that reminds me that these little ones are not just foolish rascals - a la Proverbs 22:15 - but they are sensitive hearts and inquisitive minds that are pondering, wondering, learning, growing, and being shaped every day.
Such was our Bible reading time earlier this week.
Our passage was 1 Corinthians 15, and we spent considerable time on verses 20-23.
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.
Firstfruits
"Firstfruits" is one of those practical words that plainly describes what it is. Firstfruit is simply the fruit that comes first. For my children, I used the example of our ridiculously overachieving tomato plants.
"Did we harvest a whole bunch of tomatoes at the beginning, or just a few?"
"Just a few, Daddy."
"That's right! Those were the firstfruits - the fruit that came first. Did you know that there was going to be more fruit when you picked the firstfruits, or did you think that was all there was?"
"There was going to be more."
"Right again! There were green tomatoes on the vine, but they weren't ready to be picked, right?"
"Of course, Daddy! It would be silly to pick green tomatoes."
"But one day, they will be ready to be picked. They will be red and ripe. The same with the resurrection of the dead. Christ is the firstfruits - the first red tomatoes - and we're the green tomatoes. We haven't experienced the resurrection yet - but the time is coming when we will."
(Much laughter and giggles). "We're like green tomatoes!"
More Is Coming
The first thing that Christ the firstfruits means for us is that more is coming. More fruit is coming. The firstfruits are just the first taste, the first bite, the first sip, the first bit of harvest. Jesus is risen from the dead to life eternal, and that means that there will be many more who rise in the resurrection.
You don't have a firstfruits without an "otherfruits". You can't have a fruit that comes first without a harvest that follows. And in the Willis garden, you can't have a first few red tomatoes without a host of green tomatoes waiting for their time to shine.
The destiny of every believer resurrection and eternal life. It is not a matter of if we will follow Christ into heaven, glory, and the fullness of His kingdom, it is a matter of when. As Colossians says, Christ is the "firstborn from the dead".
And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Of the Same Quality
The second thing that "Christ the firstfruits" shows us is that our resurrection will be of the same quality as Christ's. Those first sweet, red, juicy tomatoes tell us what the quality of the harvest will be. The other tomatoes will be like the firstfruits - just a lot more of them!
Thus the Christian looks forward to a resurrection that is nothing less in quality than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Christ rose to die no more, so we will rise to die no more. As Christ demonstrated that he has a resurrected physical body by eating and drinking, so we will have physical bodies and eat and drink. As Christ's physical body is no longer afflicted by the effects of sin (disease, suffering, affliction, etc), so our physical bodies will be free from the effects of sin.
Green Tomato Joy
We're like green tomatoes!
Willis Kiddos, 2025
I pray that my children would continue to understand with ever increasing depth and delight the truth of Christ the firstfruits. It is our strength when we feel weak. It is our hope when we are faced with despair. It is our joy when the brokenness of this present life invades our home and leaves its painful marks. And it is our anchor when we lie on our deathbeds and breathe our last breath.
It's a good thing to be a green tomato.