Discipleship Found in Green Beans
Recently, my family purchased my childhood home, and we inherited more space, more land, and more responsibility. Our property now includes rows of perennial beds, a sprawling lawn, and a sizeable vegetable garden. Many evenings after work, I find myself tending to one of these areas—and this time, the task of the evening was picking the last green beans of the season.
As usual, my two-year-old son Bo wanted to join. Bo is a helper by nature. In the kitchen, he cracks eggs (with plenty of shells) and whisks them (with plenty of spills). If I’m carrying something heavy, he’s right there with a hand on the load, eager to share in the work. That night, when I put on my muddy shoes, he rushed to get his boots so he could follow me.
We walked hand in hand to the garden. I lifted him over the fence, and he thanked me with a cheerful, “Shank you, Dada.” Then he waited eagerly for his role. Bo doesn’t yet have the dexterity to pick green beans, so I bent down, searched the vines, and carefully pulled off each bean. I handed them to Bo, and with delight, he dropped them into our bucket. Over and over, I picked and he plopped, each time accompanied by his joyful “Shank you, Dada.”
It struck me, in the rhythm of that simple moment, how much this mirrors our walk with God. Bo had no claim to the garden. He hadn’t purchased the land, prepared the soil, planted the seeds, watered, weeded, or kept the critters out. The fruit we were harvesting had grown through others’ work, not his. And yet, it was my joy to have him with me, sharing in the process in the only way he could—receiving what I placed in his hand and putting it in the basket.
Isn’t that a beautiful picture of discipleship? We often act as if we are the ones who own, maintain, and produce the fruit of our lives. But the truth is, we are Bo in this illustration. The Father has done the work—planting, cultivating, and producing fruit. He invites us into His garden, not because He needs our help, but because He delights in our presence. Our role is not to create fruit apart from Him, but to remain with Him, receiving what He gives, and joyfully offering it back for His purposes.
Jesus said it best: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, NIV).
The Father’s greatest joy is not in how perfectly we contribute, but in having us near Him, walking in step with Him, ready to place the green beans He gives us into His basket with delight.
