Things to learn from a strawberry.

1 John 4:7-8 (NIV) 

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Today we had are annual day at the Florida Strawberry Festival. It is always a fun filled day as a family doing the things you do at a fair. The bonus is that it is centered around strawberries.

Isn't it exciting to know that God can show us lessons if we keep our eyes and hearts open. I learned two lessons today.

First as you look at a strawberry you notice it kind of looks like a heart.  We will often tell people that we love them “with all our heart.” God wants us to love Him with all of our heart! He also wants us to love others the same way.

The strawberries we ate today were sweet and delicious. It reminds us of the fact that God’s love is sweet, and that He wants us to be sweet and loving to those that are around us.

Secondly I read a sign talking about the process for the successful strawberry harvest. They start by cultivating the soil and making special, raised beds for the strawberries. They then lay a thin sheet of black plastic over the beds before they plant the strawberries. The purpose is to keep the strawberries clean prior to harvesting.  As we bear fruit in Christ are we keeping our fruit clean?

Dear Lord, thank You for the strawberries that You have provided for us to enjoy. As we think about them help us remember to keep our fruit clean as we live our life for You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.