MANDRAKE AND PLEASANT FRUITS

MANDRAKE AND PLEASANT FRUITS

“The mandrakes give a smell and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved”, continues the Shulamite in verse 13 of Chapter 7 in the Song of Songs. Mandrake is a rhubarb-like herb having narcotic qualities. In your garden, there are certain mandrake-like persons who spread the fragrance of holiness through their holy lives. This fragrance attracts the people of this world towards Christ. Your vineyard must produce all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old. The persons whom you are ministering to are pleasant fruits, new and old. They may be new disciples of Christ or old disciples of Christ. Both the categories are pleasant fruits to Christ. Christ loves both the categories alike. A person who has become His disciple recently is equated with another person who had become His disciple long ago. The bride lays these fruits “at our gates”. There is no individual gate for each keeper of the vineyard so as to claim “at my gate”. These days, many ministers boast of the number of persons saved through their individual ministries by naming such persons or publishing the statistics of the numbers. Dear minister of God, you should keep these precious fruits “at our gates” for your Beloved Shepherd. The gates are common to all ministers. The pleasant fruits are not for your benefit. Don’t covet their offerings for your vineyard. These are for the Lord and His Body, the universal unseen Church.