The Century Plant and the Parable of the Century

There's this road that I travel occasionally... and on it is one of the most glorious sights.  The first time I saw it, about a year ago, I thought it was a gigantic aloe plant.  I had never seen one that large before.  I was intrigued.

(I guess it's one of those things about me that only those closest to me understand - I am easily intrigued by simple things that others pass by without even noticing.  I am, what I like to call, a noticer.  The color of the sky, a bird, a plant, the sparkle in a baby's eyes... I find joy and excitement in the simple.  And, it works for me.  I'm never bored.  There is always something to notice and study and enjoy.)

Well, since noticing the plant, I have chosen to travel that particular road a little more often the past year.  Just watching, observing, marveling, noticing.  I slow down when I pass the house with the plant in the yard.  I start noticing other similar plants in various places.  And, so, like any good noticer, I do a little research on the plant.

Turns out, the giant aloe is actually a century plant.

It's pretty big, right?  Well, this amazing thing happened.  As I continued to travel down this road, over the course of several months, the plant shot up this huge stalk and bloomed!  Like, if you have never seen this before, it is glorious!  the stalk of blooms has to be at least 15 feet tall!

And, I'm noticing the bloom, but there's also something else... little baby century plants around the bottom.  You can see them growing, their little leaves poking out from the base of the mama plant.  Reaching out for sunlight, and just emerging.


As the days pass, the mama plant's leaves start to dry up and wither.  Ah, the beautiful irony of life.  It blooms, a glorious 15 foot display for all to see, and then it dies.  Such is life for the century plant.  So, as I'm driving by, I'm noticing the babies.  The little baby plants are being covered by the withering dying leaves of the century plant.  The mama's death is looking like imminent death for the babies as well.  Because the babies are still growing right at the base of the mama plant, they are being smothered by the dead, limp, dying leaves of their mama.

So, I'm on this one year journey down this road noticing this plant, and God speaks to me.  Like I'm supposed to have been noticing this for the past year because he is showing me something through this plant as an amazing parable to some pretty recent life events.

You see, no matter what we do, there are always people watching, and always people following.  So, we do this or we do that and people watch and are intrigued and come and nuzzle right up under you and plant themselves there.

Well, that's kinda awesome if you're like following Jesus.  Come on, watch me, follow me, and nuzzle right up under me and plant yourself there cause I'm following Jesus and I'm gonna point you in the right direction.  Cool.  Awesome.  No harm there, right?

But what happens when you fall victim to sin?  (What?!?! That never happens, right?!?!)  Let's be real here.  What happens when your pride gets in the way and you start doing what you feel like doing and those little babies are nuzzled up under you?  What are they thinking as you shoot your stalk of pride and selfish gain straight to the sky?  Well, they can't really see that, as they are still nuzzled right up under you.What happens now, as the flowers of idolatry bloom in your life?  You still look pretty good from afar.  There is a difference, definitely something there that wasn't there before, but on the outside, it looks good.  No one can really see the inner workings of death in your roots, leaves, and life.  Those little babies are under your leaves, just peeking out toward the sunlight.  They have NO. IDEA. what is coming next.

And then, it starts to happen.  The giant leaves start to die and fall over on the baby plants.  Oh no!  The babies can no longer see the light, and they are burdened under the heaviness of the leaves of the mama plant.  They are trying to search for the sun, but the heaviness and darkness of the mama plant's leaves are literally killing them.  Suffocating them.  The very one they followed and nuzzled up under and grew underneath is now the one blocking the light from their life.

Oh, how I pray for the master gardener to come and detach all those little babies from the mama plant.  Take them far away so that they may bask in the sunlight and drink deep of the living water that brings life and not death.  That the master gardener would prune them so that they would bear good fruit and not succomb to the lies of pride, selfish gain, and idolatry in their own lives.

And we, as fellow mama plants would never invite anyone to plant themselves under us.  But, instead, would point out places full of light and truth and living water where other little baby plants can choose to plant themselves and grow.  And, there, together, we all seek the true light, the living water, the breath of life that comes only from our creator.

Little babies, plant yourselves in Jesus.  Take root in his word.  Man will always fail you.  We are all flawed, fallible creatures, prone to wander, and prone to sin.  None of us will ever be completely free from sin, and none of us are worthy for you to nuzzle under and plant yourself close to our roots.  So, dear ones, plant yourselves in Jesus.  Keep others nearby, but don't nuzzle under someone else.  Be who God made you to be.  Seek the true light (John 1:9)and the living water (Jeremiah 17:13, John 4:10).  Grow alongside others who are doing the same thing.  But plant yourselves in Jesus.  Nuzzle up under his light and truth.  Drink deep of his living water that will never run dry.