Hybrid or Heirloom

For several decades fruit and vegetable growers have been in pursuit of hybrids that will give them bigger yields with fewer problems. Those efforts have touched nearly every type of produce from corn to tomatoes, beans to watermelon.

The results are uncontestable. Farmers are able to feed more people with less land. Fruits and vegetables are more disease and pest resistant. County and state fairs display mammoth pumpkins, watermelons and other produce grown in local gardens.

Hybrids definitely have their pluses, but some people have noticed some produce don’t taste like it used to. During the summer you can hear the excitement when the first tomatoes ripen and are brought to the table. The taste of fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes is hard to beat.

Some grocery stores have responded to the desires of customers for better tasting produce. It is now possible to find heirloom fruits and vegetables, albeit at a higher price. These produce have been grown from varieties of seeds that are unchanged from many decades ago.

Heirloom produce usually isn’t as nicely shaped as hybrids nor do they stand up to as many pests and diseases. The upside is tomatoes taste more like tomatoes and come in a variety of colors from nearly black to yellow and pink. Some are even striped! Carrots are purple or yellow or red as well as orange.

This hybrid vs. heirloom is the same conflict we wrestle with as Christians. Will we allow ourselves to be hybridized with the world? It certainly makes life easier. We won’t be attacked as often for our beliefs and ethics. We may even advance further and faster in our jobs or socially.

On the other hand, we can take steps to remain heirloom Christians, those who remain faithful to what the Scriptures teach. It’s not something we can do on our own. Our sinful nature is all too willing to become a hybrid. Only the Holy Spirit, working through God’s Word and the Sacraments can maintain us as pure heirlooms of God’s handiwork.

But what if we’ve already compromised with the world? What if we are already hybrids? That’s why Jesus gave Himself up to be our Savior. Through His death on the cross and resurrection He has made it possible for us to be reborn as new creations. We were made new through the waters of baptism. That rebirth as a new creation continues throughout our lives “through daily contrition and repentance” as Luther wrote in the Small Catechism.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. (Matthew 5:13)

Jesus has made us salt for a world that desperately needs the seasoning of God’s grace and mercy. Connected to Him through our baptism and empowered by the Spirit, we can confidently remain heirlooms, filled with the flavor of Christ.

This devotion came from a series I started a few years ago which I tentatively called “Grace from the Produce Aisle.” I never finished that project because… life. Maybe posting some here will help me get back into writing more of those devotions.