Fruit Diet

I used to write a healthy eating blog, and I recently went back to look at it.  At the end of that blog I started a series that I never finished, so if like to finish it here.  I'll start by reposting the ones I did get finished and then I'll start with new posts.  So, I hope you like am new start to an old series.

"I am unhealthy.  I have been filling up on junk.  I have been destroying what the Lord has created. 

I'm not actually talking about my body, while that does apply in this case as well, sadly.  I am talking about my spirit.  I have been starving my soul.  I have been filling it full of junk and lies that I believed from the Devil.  I have been filling it full of things like self pity and anger and hate.  It actually mirrors the junk I've been putting into my physical body.  I have been filling that full of pies and cakes and cookies and chips and all sorts of things that I know aren't any good for me.  

So I have decided to go on an ALL FRUIT DIET.  Before those of you in the health profession start freaking out on me, this is for my soul.  I am going to try and have my spirit only feeding on the fruits of the spirit. So, what are those fruits and how do you get them?  

Physical fruit is easy.  It grows on tress or plants and you can go pick it, purchase it, or grow it yourself.  Spiritual fruit is a little different.  

First things first:  What are the fruits of the spirit?  You can find what God says about them in Galatians 5:22-23.  

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." NIV

I actually did a bit of a word study recently about the fruits of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit.  It was interesting to me that in the different translations the fruits of the flesh took on several different meanings, but the fruits of the spirit were pretty constant.  Some of the translations elaborated on them somewhat but the same core words were still there.

Love

Joy

Peace

Forbearance/Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-control

So why the difference on one and not the other.  My opinion is that the Devil and the flesh are fickle.  They change so readily to suit the circumstances.  But God, on the other hand, is constant.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8).

I thought I would start with Love and do a bit of a series on what a diet rich in the Fruits would mean, look like, and how I'm living it out.  And, as always, how does that apply to a healthy eating journey.  

Love:

How do we define love?  It is to most people a feeling.  It is the butterflies and the gooy-ness that comes from that special someone.  It is a mother kissing her child on the forehead before bedtime, and a father walking his daughter down the isle just to give her away to another man.  

What does the Bible say that love is?  It says that God is love.  So, does that mean that by the transitive property of language (yes I did make that up, but I think it makes sense) that real, true, honest love must be God?  I think it does mean just that.  We cannot hope to truly love other people without God in our hearts, because they will, even if they don't mean to, hurt us.  They will betray us.  They will leave us.  They will insult us.  But, when we are filled with God, we can still love those people.  

Love is not a feeling, I hate to tell you.  Love is an action.  I know I just burst the bubbles of all those "love-sick" people out there, but it's true.  Lust, like, and hate; those are feelings.  Love is a choice and a call to DO something. But, what if we have no motivation to  DO  anything?  We choose to do it anyway.  That's Love!  

Then the question poses itself, how do I make that choice when I want so badly to do something else?  We must be filled with the spirit.  We have to spend time in communion with God.  We have to read His love letters to us (the Bible).  We have to talk with him. (C is for the C in Communication thanks Darrell Cook). In short, we have to fall in love with God.

I'm going to get a little science-y for a minute, stick with me please.  A fruit is the swollen ovary of a flower.  It is the flower being pregnant.  It has been filled with pollen from another flower or stamen and is ready to produce a seed that will grow into a new plant.  God so knew what he was doing when He called them fruits of the spirit.  We must be filled with the spirit in order to become pregnant with all the things that he is.  We will begin to swell with things like Love, joy, peace, patience, etc.  and we will have no choice but to produce a seed that will grow into something substantial.  

Ok enough metaphors and analogies.  How does this apply to being healthy.  I believe the first part of love is to learn to love ourselves for what God created us to be.  Yes we may have our struggles with food.  But we have to love this creation of God's enough to choose to take care of it, even if that means carrots instead of chocolate cookies.  We have to choose to act.  We cannot sit around and do whatever we want and think that God is going to bless that, or that the Holy Spirit is going to want to hang out with us.  

So, let's get real and start choosing to love ourselves for the sake of the fruit and seeds we will bear."