have you ever forced yourself to like something?
i have.
it's called a grapefruit.
i grew up thinking they were the nastiest things.
they're so bitter, so tart, so un-orange-like.
i remember accidentally pouring myself a heaping glass of
"orange juice," only to find out that it was
grapefruit juice.
ick!
not a good surprise.
but lately, i've been really trying to like it.
reason being?
it has a ton of health benefits.
1 grapefruit has:
73% of your daily vitamin C
[helps in healing & strengthens your immune system]
23 % of your daily vitamin A
[necessary for vision]
lycopene
[fights free-radicals - hello, anti-tumor activity!]
liminoids
[more anti-tumor activity!]
lowers cholesterol
prevents kidney stones
protects against colon cancer
---
it's amazing how something so bitter
can be so good for you.
before i bought one to give it another spin,
i considered looking up recipes to make it taste better.
i decided against that, but i do believe that eating one like this wouldn't hurt:
i can't imagine having any hesitation in eating this each morning.
unlike forcing myself to like grapefruits,
God never has to force himself to like me.
He just does.
He doesn't imagine what he can add to me to make me better,
and He doesn't think i'm bitterly-awful.
Genesis 1:27 says, "God created man in his own image..."
and Jeremiah 31:3 says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness."
God drew man in his image.
perfectly created.
but because of temptation and sinful desires,
we screwed everything up!
that slithery-snake, Satan, encouraged Eve to doubt God's goodness,
and to take a bite.
it was her lack of willpower,
and her husband, Adam, and his decision to keep mum & not stop her,
that led to our downfall.
yes, they were a team. no more pointing fingers at Eve!
i look to Him in amazement and wonder each day:
how could someone love us so much?
how could He see us in all our filth and still want to spend time with us?
we who have all of the fears,
all of the complaining, arguing, boasting, resentfulness;
all of the attitudes that would make us turn our noses up.
how?
because His son died for every single one of our sins, that's how.
He just does.
before taking his last breath,
Jesus said, "it is finished."
not "I am finished,"
IT.
the cleansing of our sins.
the forgiveness we don't deserve.
the grace that we need to get into heaven.
God looked at him and saw every awful thing we've done or will do,
and wiped it clean.
so when we choose to love Jesus,
and choose to accept his love,
God declares us innocent,
justifying us, by grace through faith in Christ.
Romans 3:23 - 25 says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith."
so i look at my grapefruit with a new perspective.
i see it in its purest form:
God created that fruit for me.
He made it for my well-being and health.
and i will attempt to look at it similar to how he sees me:
perfect, and beneficial to multiplying his kingdom.
how amazing, and what grace.
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