LIMES

⁷ Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 1:7 (NIV)

We use to make homemade salsa every week.  The problem was it’d never stay fresh long enough.  Sarah and I would be hovering over a Tupperware of salsa trying to remember was it Monday or Tuesday we made it.  Smelling it, studying it, trying to convince the other to do the taste test.  One week Sarah went to Colorado and I had a crazy idea:  what if I buy already made salsa.  So began the testing of every salsa the store had.  Nothing tasted right or authentic.  Last week we tried a small can of a brand called Herdez.  And I had another crazy idea:  why not pour lime, lots of lime on top.  We have now created the perfect salsa:  one can of red Herdez, one can of green Herdez, and a whole lime (the juice not the whole fruit).  It’s salsa heaven.

Today I don’t necessarily want to talk about salsa but limes.

A beautiful community has broken out at NBC.  There’s love and sharing and giving.  It’s touching and encouraging for a pastor to see happening in his church.

One of the things I love seeing is when someone brings a big box or basket of fruit from a tree from home that’s given them too much of a “harvest” for their home to handle and they share it with the saints.  I love it.  Not just because I’m enjoying the plumbs, oranges, and LIMES!  I love to see the sharing.  What’s the other option?  Not sharing.  Keeping the fruit for yourself and let it rot on the vine or tree.  Who does that help?  No one.

So if you have not figured it out already, my salsa lime came from one of those baskets:  the missing puzzle piece, the thing that cracked the salsa code, bringing peace to my home and refreshment to my salsa.

Love was “fruit” God was growing in Philemon.  He had a choice in what to do with it:  Keep it for himself and the people in his home or take the abundance of that harvest to share with the saints at church.  An he took the fruit to church.  Paul, the church leader, was encouraged and joyful over it.  What are you doing with the fruit God is growing in you?  Are you sharing it?  Are you giving love to the people at NBC?  Are you refreshing the saints with your love?  If so you’re not only blessing them you’re blessing me the leader.  If love and service only comes from Pastor Israel then there’s a limit on who gets refreshed.  But when we all love one another many get refreshed.  So bring your fruit to church.  Share it with the saints.

Questions to consider:

Who all gets blessed if you bring the fruit of love to church?

How?

Why do some keep love at home and not take it to church?

What does taking love to church look like?

What will you do this week to share love with others?