God and Lemonade

You've heard the saying, "when life gives you a lemon, make lemonade". I subscribe to that sort of mind set. In fact, I was thinking as I started this post that life itself is actually a lemon. Think about it, the Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We begin our lives in sin - now that is a lemon! The quintessential "lemon" is that car that is always breaking down. You get it with great hopes and dreams to drive in style, or at least get from place to place, and it ends up disappointing you. Just like life, we are born and there is great hope surrounding a new baby. As we grow up we are dreaming of what we might do - after school, on the weekend, in the summer, when we grow up, when we get a new job, when this debt is paid, when this habit is kicked, when this relationship is repaired, and on and on and on. The lemons, or bad things in life, the results of our sin and the sins of others start piling up. Pretty soon, we become jaded and the hope is gradually replaced with hopelessness. Ah, but there is lemonade to be made.



A couple of weeks ago, my daughter wanted to have a lemonade stand. It was the first really nice day of spring, and she got this notion. We both worked together and set up a stand complete with a giant jug of lemonade, disposable cups, chocolate wafers for a treat, and a little ceramic "doggy bank" for any donations. I had forgotten something inside and told Karsyn that she needed to come in with me. She first said that she would stay outside by herself and I said no. When she protested, I reminded her that I needed to keep her safe and couldn't leave her alone outside. Remembering our "street safe" talks, she quickly came in with me. As we headed back outside her exact words were "Nobody will take me now Daddy, because when they see you with me they will know that I belong to you." I was struck by the simplicity and the truth of the statement, and by how the very same thing could be said about us and God. "When they see you with me they will know that I belong to you". If you are a believer, do people know that you "belong" to God? Do people see God with you everywhere you go? That is our witness to those around us. That is what shows others who our allegiance is pledged to. When we put others ahead of ourselves, people see God in us; when we give sacrificially and cheerfully, people see God in us; when we show faithfulness through difficulty, people see God in us; when we share in others pain and hurt, people see God in us; when we welcome others into our home with hospitality, people see God in us; when we share the truth of Christ's love and the power of His death and resurrection, people see God in us - and know that we belong to Him!

Then God can make the lemonade. He takes the lemons (our lives) and makes something wonderfully refreshing, sweet, satisfying, and altogether different then what we had before - the lemonade - or, our new Life in Christ! Have you allowed Him to have your lemon and make lemonade? Have you given Him your life and asked Him to make all things new, to make it full and abundant, satisfying and rich, complete and compelling, exciting and eternal? He will - He did it for me, he's done it for others, and He can do it for you - whosoever will... Those are my thoughts on God and Lemonade.