Good Fruits or Sour Grapes
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Cor 5:17 NIV)
I have noticed something recently. I am not as angry as I used to be. I am not as grouchy either. I don’t complain nearly as much as I used to. I am not as worried or afraid as I once was. I can’t think of anyone or anything that I really hate either. Now I don’t think it is because I have mellowed with age. Quite frankly, I am not that old yet. Besides I know people a lot older than me who are a lot grouchier. I also know people a lot younger than me who are already way more mellow than I will ever be. Maybe it is that I just don’t have as much room for those things inside me anymore. When life squeezes you what is on the inside comes out. If you are full of sour grapes then you will give the world vinegar. If you are full of good fruits then you will give the world orange juice. Maybe my good fruits are finally ripening while my sour grapes are dying on the vine. Maybe I am finally gardening my soul the way that God wants me to.
One thing I do know, however, is that the more you fill your heart, soul, and mind with love and thankfulness the less room there is for anything else. The more you love God, yourself, and others the less room there is for anger and hate. The more you thank God for your life and every good thing in it the less room there is for fear and worry. The more good fruits you plant and care for the less room there is for sour grapes in the garden of your life.
May you always fill your heart, soul, and mind with wonderful love and glorious gratitude then. May you always feel God’s perfect love hugging your heart and uplifting your soul. May you always be so full of the good fruits of love, joy, and thankfulness that not a single sour grape can be squeezed out of you. Remember, you are the gardener and your life is the harvest. Plant well, water often, and always invite others to the feast.
By: Joseph J. Mazzella