Looks Like a Lemon, Feels Like a Lemon, But….

I have to tell my Pastor that I really do listen to his sermons, even if some of my blog posts begin in my mind while he is speaking. <grin> Point in case, on a recent Sunday, the message was about fruit. He was talking about the fruit of the Church as a whole and our fruit as individuals as followers of Jesus Christ.  He explained how a good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit; and a fake tree, it cannot produce any fruit at all. He talked about how even if your fake fruit looked real and felt real, you could not eat it.  Even if you were able to cut off a piece and swallow it, you most likely could not digest it.

Well, my mind wondered for a moment or two as I pictured a jar of lemons that used to sit on our kitchen counter. This jar of fake lemons looked and felt so real that people had to be told they were fake.  When my oldest niece was a toddler, this jar of lemons was one of her favorite playthings. We would sit her on the counter, and she would pull them out one by one and then, one by one, put them back in the jar.  She did this over and over and over (and over!)  She loved to eat real lemons but could not get any satisfaction out of biting into these.   

She knew they were not real, but she would still try to take a bite of them anyhow.  She would chew, gnaw, and slobber all over them. She did manage to leave teeth marks in some, but she could not get even a tiny squirt of lemon juice to come forth.  Eventually she outgrew the jar of lemons.  I’m sure she probably, at twenty-something, doesn’t even remember them now.  

We all have areas in our lives, have been in situations or have wanted things that looked or seemed very real as we enter into them; but they are as counterfeit as a jar of plastic lemons. We get all tangled up in them — friendships, intimate relationships, jobs, dreams and fears.  We pull them out of that jar, then chew, gnaw, and slobber all over them trying to pull life out of them:

     – Friendships that looked good at first that ended up being superficial 

     – Intimate relationships that felt right but were not healthy

     – Jobs that looked ideal from the outside, but burned you out completely 

     – Dreams that feel good but come true with much different realities

     – Fears that look so real that we are paralyzed  

God gives us a tool, a supernatural lens, to look through. This lens helps us detect the counterfeit, the imitation.  It can help us see people in a way that helps us determine their authenticity and helps us guard against unhealthy friendships and destructive intimate relationships. (1 Corinthians 15:33, Ecclesiastes 4:9 and Proverbs 18:24)

Another tool is prayer. How many times do we really pray about situations and decisions in our lives?  Did we pray before we took the job that looked like the perfect fit on paper yet turned out to be something completely different than was presented? We get all involved in the stress and burnout of the job and we sometimes forget that prayer is still the best way to gain direction and guidance.  (Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and Philippians 4:6-7)

God gives us a heavenly vision to monitor our dreams against.  When we look toward our heavenly home, and embrace the eternal promise of our Lord, the earthly dreams we can conjure up have no chance to control us.  (Jeremiah 29:11, Matthew 6:33 and Proverbs 16:9)

As a child of God, we have a built in security system toward fear.  The Holy Spirit living within us will help fend off fearful thoughts.  When we lean on and listen to the Holy Spirit, He can help us tell the difference between something real that is to be approached cautiously and the fraud of satan’s lies.  (John 14:16, Acts 9:31 and 2 Timothy 1:7) 

God is genuine.  He is real.  He will never change.  “The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.” Psalm 119:160 KJV 

God’s Word helps us produce fruit that is alive and healthy.  When we cut off a piece of this fruit, we can swallow it and digest it to provide sustenance for our spirits and our souls.   Don’t accept any artificial lemons, indulge in God’s real, authentic, true grace!

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Do you know Jesus? Do you know the peace that can come only from an intimate relationship with Him?  You can know Him.  Jesus Christ, God’s Son, born into human flesh, sinless, crucified and giving His life freely, buried, arisen on the third day, will come into your life and change the outcome of your eternity.  You just have to be willing to believe and accept His truth.  

Here is an excellent website that can give you additional information about making your decision for Jesus Christ!  PeaceWithGod.net