Irresistible Grace - Pt 1

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13 ESV).

This past Christmas I received one of the most unique gifts I can remember. I was given a two-year old sapling grown from an acorn of the Century Tree on the campus of Texas A&M. In recent years, the Century Tree has become known as a "sweetheart tree", with hundreds of Aggie marriage proposals taking place there every year. Tradition states that couples who walk beneath its draping branches will remain together forever. I haven’t reached “forever” status yet, but the tree has worked for Mary and I for fifty years! The Century Tree, located in front of the Academic Building is at least 150 years old and has been named an official Famous Tree of Texas by the Texas Forest Service. That is an honor given to an elite group of trees "that have witnessed exciting times in Texas frontier history." The Century Tree is one of only three trees added to the registry over the past 40 years. Thinking about that and reading the passage I’ve selected for today, I was struck with the truth of the irresistible grace of God. It is amazing to think of the creative thought in the development of the scholarship fund through the growth and sale of these trees. Andy Duffie '78 began this project in 2010. He began harvesting the acorns from the tree and growing the seedlings for sale in containers pictured above. The principle is so simple I wonder why no one thought to do it previously. When you plant an acorn, you will indeed reproduce similar genetics of the bearing tree. If you want to have a tree like the Century Tree, plant a seedling grown from one of its acorns! That is God’s design! So, it is also God’s design that every “offspring” in His spiritual family must come from His work of grace. Perhaps the plainest example of this process is the calling of the disciple Matthew, also known as Levi the tax collector. The apostle records his own conversion in his Gospel in verse nine. While we won’t dwell on the finer theological points of this principle, the assurance within it is very plain. Because redemption is wholly a work of God, we can rest in the absolute hope of the final outcome of that redemption. That brings me great comfort!