There’s a Worm in my Apple!

Psalm 51:5 KJV

“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Honey Crisp Apples:

I really enjoy eating apples, especially Honey Crisp Apples. They are the best and everyone should be required to like them. My wife often buys apples for me, but sometimes they have a small problem, worms! No one likes a wormy apple, but how does the worm get inside the apple? It seems strange to me a worm would make a tunnel inside an apple for no reason, then just leave. Well, I was surprised to learn the worm did not come from the outside, the worm came from the inside.

How did the worm get inside the apple:

The worm inside the apple is actually a caterpillar that came from a moth called the codling moth. The Moth comes along when the apple trees begin to blossom. When they find the blossom and then lay their eggs on the apple blossoms. The apple blossom is one of the first stages of the birth and growth of an apple, this is when the apple is conceived. As the apple blossom grows into a fruit, the moth eggs hatch and burrows inside, growing up inside the apple.  So then, the apple is conceived and grows up with the worm inside.

The apple, the worm and growing up:

An apple that grows up with no worm inside turns into a large, beautiful, tasty and edible apple for anyone to enjoy. An apple that grows up with a worm inside is smaller, is not very nice looking and is not edible or useful for anyone. The same is true of little boys and girls. They are born with sin in their hearts, and when that sin is allowed to live and grow there they fail to become godly young men and women. When they trust in Jesus and learn to be Christlike they blossom into strong Christian men and beautiful Christian ladies.

Don’t leave a worm in your apple:

When the worm is left alone inside the apple to live freely, it is very destructive. He roams around, eating the fruit and creating harmful tunnels inside the heart of the apple. Over time the damage is done and cannot be repaired. Eventually, after the worm is finished destroying the heart of the apple, the worm makes an exit hole and leaves. Sin in a young boy or girls heart is just as harmful. When sin is allowed to live there it damages your relationship with God and your family.  Then when sin is finished causing harm in your life, it just leaves the boy or girl alone to face the consequences. Squish that worm as quickly as possible!

A worm in the apple, sin in the human heart:

The worm growing in the apple represents sin and wickedness in the human heart. When we see little boys and girls being disobedient or dishonoring their parents, what we are really seeing is that sinful worm in their hearts. Some may ask, how did this sinful worm get into the hearts of boys and girls? It started in the garden of Eden,  God gave the first man and woman very clear instructions. God told Adam and Eve that they were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He told them the day they eat thereof they would surely die.

Then came Satan, he deceived Eve by telling her she would not die if she ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He convinced her she would become very wise, like a god, if she ate from that tree. She believed Satan rather than God, she disobeyed and ate from the tree. Adam her husband also chose to disobey what God told him and he ate from the tree also. Their disobedience to God’s command is called sin, from this time forward man would be born with sin in his heart. Man struggles to obey God’s commands and often believes Satan instead, allowing sin to grow in their lives.

The good apple or the bad apple:

If we were shopping for apples, we would pick the big, shiny healthy apples with no holes inside over the small,  unhealthy, holey apples. No one wants a spoiled apple and no one wants a spoiled heart. Just as the good apple would be chosen with no worm inside, a good heart should also be chosen. Luke 8:15 KJV tells us: “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” When we keep a good heart, the word of God is allowed to flourish there and brings forth good fruit, with no worms!

The gospel of Jesus Christ:

Since our first birth comes with a sinful worm in our hearts, we need to be born again. When we are born again, God takes away that sin through Jesus Christ. It starts with an incorruptible seed,1 Peter 1:23 KJV “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. ” Through our first birth, we are conceived in sin, but after trusting Jesus, he makes us clean from sin. Jesus died on the cross, he was buried and then he rose again the third day to pay for our sin. The Bible says when we trust in him we are made a new creature whose sins are paid for. Now then we can say, 1 John 2:12 KJV “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.”

We should be careful when buying apples to inspect for signs of worms or corruption. Likewise, we should always inspect people, decisions, places, etc in our lives. We want to make sure they are there to help us keep a clean heart before God. Don’t be a wormy apple but learn to be a godly person.

Memorize:

Luke 8:15 KJV “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

 

Plenteous Redemption: Ambassadors for Christ!

Baptist International Missions Inc. (BIMI)