It's lemon season here and how lovely it is to see such an abundant crop around the village this year. Last year my tree decided to take a rest but it's sure making up for it this year!
Thinking about these lemons and how lovely they look, caused me to think about their sour taste. Anyone who was offered a lemon but who hadn't seen one before might get a shock and pull a face once they tasted its bitterness or sourness. Having said this I do have a friend in Macau who loves to chew on lemons.
There are things in life that can bring bitterness to our spirit. I think of Hannah in the Old Testament who was unable to conceive a child. Her bitterness caused her to go to God with weeping and prayers for a child which God graciously gave her. In the New Testament there was Simon in the city of Samaria. He had been practising witchcraft and claiming his own greatness but he came to faith in Jesus Christ and began following the disciples. When he saw the gifts of the Holy Spirit being given to others he offered money to be enable him to do what the apostles were doing. Peter rebuked him saying, "For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity."Vs 23.
Simon had become a believer in Jesus but there was still some work to be done in his life - just as there is in us too. His thinking needed to be straightened out, and Peter's strong rebuke shocked him into asking for prayer. Left unchecked sin would probably have led to him 'going off the rails' and possibly leading others astray into thinking that God's divine gifts were for sale.
Bitterness can be our response to many things; being treated unfairly, losing our job or health, knowing that people are criticising us, abandonment of different kinds. Sometimes we feel very justified in our bitterness but it is never worth the price we pay. Some wise person has said that "Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die!"
Paul in his writing to the Ephesians instructs very clearly on things which should not be allowed to remain in our lives. Bitterness is one of those things. If we harbour bitterness in our hearts it leads to pollution of those around us. It robs us of our joy and peace in the Lord. It warps our thinking and can even make us sick.
Do yourself a favour today; examine your heart, ask God to show you if you are harbouring anything in your heart that is stunting your growth in Christ and robbing you of your peace.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please help me to come to you with an open mind. Please show me if I am holding bitterness or any other negative thoughts or emotions that are blocking my fellowship with you and stunting my spiritual growth. Help me to grow in grace and so that my joy and peace-filled life will glorify you. Amen
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