Finger-pickin' good

Oh, the joys of fruits coming in season—and on sale at my local grocery store! This vine fruit could well be called “grapes of math”! One branch produces so many little edibles!

I “get” that because of all the agrarian references in the Bible, which, of course, reflected the early agrarian culture. Wheat, barley, grapes, olives and more provided that culture with lessons about living for God. Like this one that Paul wrote to the church at Philippi:

And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of Christ. (Philippians 1:11)

So, what are those “fruits” or behaviors of a God-directed life?  Paul gave Timothy one list:

But you, man of God pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. (1 Timothy 6:11-12)

Paul must have mulled a lot over how to describe a “fruitful Christian.” There’s also that often-quoted section of Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

A friend from years past told how she decided to take one  spiritual “fruit” (from Galatians 5:22-23) and focus on it for a week, trusting God to make her aware of temptations to behave the opposite of it, and to thoughtfully turn her thinking to His ways. She worked as a hospital nurse, and I’m sure in that tension-filled situation she had plenty of opportunity to check the “pulse” of her fruit-bearing.

As for the bowl of fruit pictured above: are you already wanting to reach in and pluck off a few to eat? I think that’s a picture of how Christ wants us to live: that no matter when or where we’re tasted (or tested), His sweetness will prevail.

Get it!

When I open up my internet’s “home page,” besides the usual distressing news, I sometimes spot a “teaser photo” of a silly cat feature. These are the ones with cats playing the piano or chasing laser-pen beams up the wall. Ho, hum, my son’s cat has chased lasers for years. In fact, the cat wore out one laser pointer so I took over ours, which our cat had no interest in. Actually, our cat would dismiss himself when he saw the dot running around the rug.

Not so “Rosebud,” my son’s cat—she (now “it”) of exceeding fluff and two-color eyes, adopted from an animal shelter.  Absolutely an indoor cat (except for rogue slipping out the door when groceries are being carried in), her life consists mostly of sleeping, carrying around her grungy Ty © toys, slipping under the furniture covers to illegally scratch the upholstery, and letting her humans know (1) she is hungry or (2) her litter box is foul beyond belief.

 

She comes alive, however, when the dot from a laser pointer starts dancing over the rug and up the wall. Her vertical leaps, for her girth and weight, would make her a star recruit for a pro basketball team. My two-year-old grandson stands there and hoots (which is funny enough in itself) when a parent engages the cat in the fantasies of laser play.

Chasing after fantasies....that reminds me of some ho-hums from a book of the Bible, written by a king who had all the wealth and entertainment earth could offer.
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
Had he lived today, Solomon might have edited that to “chasing after the cat toy with a laser beam.”

 My point (pun intended) is this: We can be numbed by artificial pleasure or seek after the God who provides genuine and pure pleasure.  Remember, Adam and Eve were created with all the senses that brought enjoyment.  For example, I can’t imagine an apple with the taste and texture of cardboard.  God really packed that fruit with pleasure: color, crunch, taste, smell. Without the capacity for pleasure, we’d be robots.

But if we pursue only “pleasure,” we’re missing the real deal.  Having created us in His image, God also intended for us to pursue things that reflect His character. Paul gave us a good list of “pursue-afters” in both his letters to Timothy, his protégé and a young pastor surrounded by pleasure-seeking.  These included: righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness and peace (1 Timothy  6:11, 2 Timothy 2:22).

Such character qualities aren’t flashy (like the cat’s elusive laser toy), but they’ll go a long ways in building a life that’s meaningful.