Fruit Inspector

The mention of your favorite fruit right now might cause your mouth to water as your memory reminds you of its delicious taste. You might remember how old you were when you tasted it for the first time (and how your love for consuming it almost bordered on gluttony).

Maybe your parents grew stuff in a home garden, purchased it from a farmers market, or grocery store. Possibly, you have wonderful childhood memories of the whole family going to a local fruit farm to pick various fruits fresh (when they were in season).

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends the consumption of approximately three to four cups of fruit daily (depending on sex and age) as part of a healthy diet.

The Almighty cares about your health (as part of who you are as His child). He also needs consistent evidence of the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as given in Galatians 5:22, 23) in your daily relationships with others.

If you read Encourage Me on a consistent basis, thank you for honoring me by reading what I’m thinking about. Chances are you have noticed that I quote the scripture I give from The Message.

I do that for several reasons. I find it easy to understand. As someone who has grown up with a familiarity of the Bible, I always find The Message gives me a unique interpretation of a biblical passage that I’m very familiar with.

I leave my reading of it wanting to be a better individual. (Isn’t that what the Bible is supposed to do?) As an example, below is a wonderful interpretation of Galatians 5:22, 23 (that many in the religious are familiar with):

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”

As your own spiritual fruit inspector, is your internal crop of the above virtues overflowing to those around you? Are you blessing yourself, or would you label this area of your life as lacking (much like a malnourished child or animal)?