Today the baby boomer generation is looking for something we can take or eat that will make us healthy. Debbie's grandmother turned 100 this year. She doesn't take medicine, not a diabetic and has not had any health problems all of her life. Her Doctor ask her what she did and she said, "I eat a lot of fruit." He told her to keep eating it. I like fruit, but to eat it every day is hard for me to do.
I, like many of you, like the quick fix to get healthy. Two weeks to get healthy that is the time frame I like. We all know this is not possible. Eating healthy and exercising is for the long term and sometimes the benefits are not realized until we see someone our age sick, and we are still healthy.
There is one fruit that can be given once or for a lifetime and can have tremendous effect upon you and also on the ones you give it to. This fruit is very economical for us, but someone paid a sacrificial price for us to obtain it. Follow along and I will introduce you to this age-old fruit that is guaranteed to produce good results.
The best I can remember she sat behind me in Miss Townsend's 4th grade class. She was extremely shy and never said anything, and you could tell by the way she was dressed she was poor by some standards.
Some of the kids laughed at her, and she would never say a word. I hope not, but I also probably laughed at her or went along with those who did. Why do children do this? Why are the small, the weak, the different, and the shy picked on and laughed at? I don't know. Why did I go along sometimes at the expense of the one being bullied? I guess because of fear. I had rather my peers pick on someone else other than me. Therefore, I cowardly went along so I could be accepted by them.
I was studying God's love for us the other day and how He wants to fill us with His love to pass on to others He will not pour out love into a container that is full or has something else in it. We are the same way. Would your pour your coffee into a cup that had a dirty liquid and stain in the bottom of it? No, and God is not going to pour His love into a vessel that has bitterness, pride, selfishness, hatred, and is unforgiving either.
The more I studied the more I looked back at the times I came up short of loving the way I should. I do not know why, but I thought about the girl that sat behind me in the 4th grade. I kinda teared up like you would watching a Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel. I knew better than to make fun of people. Mother and dad would have punished me if they had known about it. Why did I do it?
This poor little girl had great courage. Much more than those who taunted her. We all wore our masks trying to be portrayed as someone other than our true self. We cherished being accepted by our peers over the expense of the helpless. How cruel. This girl did not wear a mask. She was her true self trying to make it in a hostile emotional environment. How would you like to have come to school every day knowing you would be made fun of because maybe you were a little different or not dressed like everyone else. That took a lot of courage. The courage that many of us did not have at that time.
Now getting back to the fruit that, obviously I didn't possess then, but hopefully I do now. The fruit I am talking about is the fruit of God's Spirit. This fruit contains the spiritual nutrients that can change families, communities and the world. The first nutrient is everlasting and can make changes if used daily. That first nutrient of the fruit of the Spirit is love. (Galatians 5:22)
What if I had shown this lonely shy little girl love? Would it have made a difference in her life then and now? It is easy to hurt people emotionally and walk away from it, but the one who has been emotionally hurt can harbor this pain for a lifetime. What if I touched her on the shoulder and genuinely asked her if I could be her friend? What if I brought her a candy bar for milk break? What if I had went and sat with her at lunch when I saw her eating alone? If I had done all of this, the pain of her coming to school each day may have been, hopefully, overcome. Maybe others would have wanted to be her friend. If I had done all of these things, I guarantee she would still remember me and what I did for her 53 years ago. Instead, she has the memories of a terrible time in the 4th grade.
I can't go back and fix it, but I can start today and make sure I do not let it happen again. A wise mother once told her son, Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. (Proverbs31:9 NKJV) The Apostle Paul said, Love never fails. (1Corinthians 13:8)
Are you using the fruit of the Spirit in your life to help someone today? If you do not have this fruit of the Spirit, you can go to Acts 2:38 to see what they did to obtain it. Do you agree with me that this fruit much needed in our society today?
Please use my blog post to read to your children for your family devotionals. Also, if you would like for me to send an email to a friend or a family member inviting them to read my blog just send me their email address.
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Have a nice day and weekend.
Thanks,
Rick Hepler
