Experiencing the Lemon with the Bad Rap - Debbie Chamberlain
A lesson on how to conquer and transform those sour things that life throws at you.
Isaiah 5:1-4
1 Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
In the verses that we have just read we see that God is dealing with His beloved Israel. As per usual, they have been walking in their own way and not following their Creator. God, in His great mercy, reminds them that He has been there all the time and has described them as a fruitful vineyard that He has nurtured carefully, but He does expect fruit from His beloved
in return for His loving provision. Unfortunately, as He walks through His vineyard, he finds that after all of His care, He has yielded only wild grapes or sour grapes that are not edible or usable. He asks the question, “What could I have done more?”
If you were to continue to read these verses of scripture, you would see that God has to chasten His beloved to get their attention and get them to return unto Him. It got a little rough in Israel for a few years. All through the Old Testament we observe a pattern of what God refers to as His “Stiff Necked People”.
One thing that I know is that when my neck gets stiff, it hurts until I do something to make it softer and more flexible. Softening is important to both the physical and spiritual well-being of everyone. When hearts get hard, they get stubborn and protective. Down through history, God has used suffering and heartache to soften the hearts of His children.
This is not only a remedy for the hardness of sinful behavior but also a help when His children get comfortable in their lives and tend to get too self-sufficient. No matter our state, the keeper of the vineyard knows when cutting, trimming, and pruning are necessary so that the vine may be trained to bring forth more fruit, sweeter fruit of better quality and has enabled the vine to grow stronger for the coming years of harvest.
It appears that we can learn a very valuable lesson in the way of the Lord. Many times, it is a sorrowful or hurtful thing that makes a human heart sweeter, softer
and better fit for the Masters use.
. The Misunderstood Lemon
As a young girl I loved sour things. Rhubarb, green apples, dill pickles, gooseberries, black raspberries and cherries, but I especially loved to eat lemons. My parents had a fit claiming that I would get sick or get a belly ache from all of those sour things. Eating them in abundance never seemed to bother me, and no doubt they were more nutritious than the typical diet of today. However, enjoying a diet of sour things in our stomachs is a far cry from experiencing sour things in our lives. Things like the lemons life can really make us pucker up and pout.
When a person buys something that disappoints them, gives them trouble, doesn’t work right, or causes them a loss, thy refer to that thing as a…
Real “LEMON”
I have recently experienced the purchase of a used car that was not what the dealer claimed, I nicknamed her the “Scarlet Lemon” she was very pretty, but pretty worthless. I get it!
The word “LEMON” has been used to describe something sour, totally worthless, heartbreaking, and disappointing. It just doesn’t measure up to your expectations. Certainly not what you desired.
Thus, the expression, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” An expression to encourage us to turn what we think is worthless and sour into something sweet
and of value. It is time to comfort that stiff neck and
learn to let God turn our suffering into Joy!
Philippians 1:2-4
2My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
In the light of this verse of scripture, it appears that in the hand of Almighty God, it is possible that the lemon has gotten a bad “rap”? Is there real value in a sour thing like a lemon? Can sour be turned to sweet when it is placed in the Master’s Hands?
When my oldest grandson was just a baby, our family was at the fair and drinking homemade lemonade. As all good grandparents we thought it might be fun to see how Kent would react to tasting lemon for the first time, so we gave him a little sample of that half of a lemon. Oh, the face that he made as we howled with laughter, but what a surprise when he cried for more. A child after his Nana’s own heart. He loved lemons! So why the derogatory remarks that label non-workable, worthless, sour, disappointing things as “Lemons”?
Everyone knows that without the lemon, there is no lemonade. The entire reputation of the lemon changes with the simple addition of two other simple
ingredients. Sugar and water. Voila’! It becomes a cool, refreshing, porch sitting, not a care in the world, drink that everyone craves in the summer. Refreshing, cooling, quenching, (not too tart, not too sweet) “BLISS” in a pitcher.
How can it be that one of the ingredients of something so sweet and refreshing could be so sour? Could it be the same in our lives, that something that makes us pucker up, could become a sweet blessing in the future when we add some helpful ingredients?
Isn’t it a fact that sour things can cause a hardened surface to become softer. I learned this the hard way as I craved lemons with the pregnancy of my first child. They kindly took the enamel off of my teeth. Not good on your teeth but very good when that sour thing softens a hardened heart. Let’s take a paring knife and do a little dissecting for a better understanding of this sour, worthless, yellow thingy called the dreaded “Lemon.”
Did you know that lemon is cleansing to the body and is a natural diuretic? Digested daily it will cleanse the liver and rid the body of unwanted poisons and toxins. Likewise, trials and heartaches clean and purify our hearts and as our hearts become less toxic, we are more able to see priorities differently and remove some of the waste out of our lives.
Ecclesiastes 7:3
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Ephesians 5:16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Lemon also is useful in your garbage disposal to get the stench out from all the garbage that has gone in. Need I say more.
Romans 12:1-2
1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
2 Peter 2:5-7
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
7 And delivered just Lot, VEXED with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
Lemon is the great friend for gardeners. When you’ve been out working in the dirt and your hands have become permanently stained, you will find that soap and water will not get them clean, but lemon will come
to the rescue and remove all of the stains. There is hope for those things that we think can never be erased.
Isaiah 1:18
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Jeremiah 2:22
22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.
Only God knows what is best for us when we feel unclean and unworthy. Don’t be surprised when a lemon is sent your way to clean your heart. The lost world considers our precious Creator and his Son, to be a worthless cure for our uncleanness. But of course we know that He is the only way! Let’s spread the word about his cleansing power!
Lemon alone, without the help of doctors or drugs, can cure a deadly disease that is called Scurvy. In the many wars between England and France, multiple navy men died from Scurvy until the English were
able to discovered the fact that lemons and limes would cure the disease. This discovery gave them the advantage when at war with France and other enemies. They soon became known as the Limeys.
In today’s world, those that think they know better about disease, would have sent out vitamin C or ascorbic acid as a synthetic substitute, thinking that they had a better, cheaper, and easier way to cure Scurvy. The result would have been disastrous and they would have all died of the dreaded disease. There is no substitute for the citrus cure for this disease and it comes from the hand of God. Presumptuous substitutes can cost us dearly.
Matthew 16:26
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
How often do we think that we have a better idea for our lives and the things that God has provided for our well-being. Many have tried to substituted sacrifice for obedience, good works for the precious blood of Jesus, and self dependance instead of the gift of God and His righteousness that comes only through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the Cross.
John 14:6
I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.
Matthew 8:17
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
Jesus is the only cure for the snakebite of sin. There is no substitute!
Lemon is also helpful when you are suffering from
hay fever, bruises, skin discoloration, mouth ulcers, corns, dandruff, warts, psoriasis, swollen ankles varicose veins (and ladies get ready for this one) it helps remove fish bones from your throat when they get stuck. What a blessing for us to discover! With all of that helpfulness, how can we not become lemon fans? Let’s fill our refrigerators with these treasures.
Seems simple, right? However, we must not miss an interesting thing that has to happen before the lemon can be a help with any of these things that we have just discovered.
A lemon must be cut and crushed before the healing juices can flow out. Without this suffering it will never become fully useful. Oh, there’s that truth that we must never forget. When this has not happened it is simply a small oval yellow thingy that is not good for
anything than beaning someone on the head and making the victim feel miserable. Its value is within and there is some pain involved in the release of that value. This is the fact that we like to skip over.
Isaiah 53:5
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Once again, Christ is our example of suffering and sorrow resulting in something lifesaving and sweet beyond words. We are grateful for His suffering but the fact that we would have to partake in such a thing,
does not set well with us. Suffering makes us think that we need to pucker up and feel sorry for ourselves, when the truth is that God is molding and forming into something remarkably sweet and refreshing to all those that we minister to through the compassion and empathy that our suffering brought to our lives. Suffering will bring about a thirst for the water of life and will add a softness and a sweetness to the way that we see others and treat others.
Lemon tree very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet. But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.
Hard to swallow alone but not so impossible when you take the time to cover the tart with some sweetness and then dilute it all down with some water of the Word. Two simple ingredients.
This is also true of the bitter pill that Christ swallowed for us and the one that we must swallow with the trials of life. They will come sooner or later, but there must be a plan before they come to know what to do with them in our weakened state. Those times when we just need a glass of lemonade to keep us going.
A sweet spirit of praise and a tender trusting heart toward God will send the Devil running. The washing of the water of the word of God will dilute the heartache and give you the strength to keep your heart tender when tempted to doubt and accuse God. Job’s great testimony was that in all of his trials he never foolishly charged God.
Lemon, even in its sour state, will quench your thirst when the heat is being turned up. This is a great mystery and something that seems unusual. But by adding sweetness and water you will be able to handle it without that puckered look on your face.
We will be able to bravely withstand the trial until it is past and has refreshed us and given us a new understanding of the love of the God that we serve. And that improved perception of God will be the lemonade of your life.
The final thought to remember is that a cut up and squeezed lemon can be used to keep other fruits from becoming spoiled. A cut lemon, poured out on a freshly cut and wounded apple, will keep it from turning brown and rotting. Making it possible that when life gives you apples, you can make apple pie.
The whole point in a nutshell, is that when you are cut down by trials, God will use you to pour yourself into others to keep their trials from spoiling them. Who has more compassion and empathy than those that have felt the crush and the searing pain from the knife themselves? No one should ever have to go thru anything in this life without the help of a kindred sister or brother who has been there!
As a past lemon that was once a wretch and of no value, you have been given a new life through salvation in Jesus Christ. You have a choice as to how much you will allow Jesus to live through you.
You can refuse to be cut, crushed, or squeezed and just opt to stay in the fruit bowl of life and look pretty on the table.
You can hide in the refrigerator where it is safe, nice and comfortable. There you will be ok for a time, and you will stay cool, calm, plump and yellow until what time the mold will set in from inactivity and inability to relate.
Those around you will want to trash you at that point.
You can stay out of the garden so you will not get your hands dirty, and think that you are clean and neat and that there is no stain. But pride will eventually bring that hidden internal stain to the surface.
To make lemonade you must be willing to be used for what God intended you to be used for no matter what may come into your life. You will need to let God provide the added ingredients as you lean on Him and draw Water from His well, and sweetness from His Holy Spirit.
Without lemonade all you have is this little round hard yellow thing with a tough skin to throw at people (which is cruel) or juggle (which is fruitless). You could roll it around on the floor with your nose. (Good for a laugh but of no real value) or play the Godfather, trying to control and scare people with a
cut up half of a lemon being held in his teeth as he growls and chases little children. Not recommended.
The Word of God is dotted with those that were willing to drink the bitter cup of lemon juice and found it changed into lemonade.
Just to name a few…
Our beloved Savior was head of the line. His suffering
was beyond what we can comprehend but so was His
joy! It will last for all eternity as we walk the streets of glory together.
There was faithful Joseph who saved the line to the Messiah and exhibited forgiveness for his family after having his best years spent in prison at their hands. His life went from famine to feast overnight.
There was daring Daniel who lived Godly his entire life, and was able to see many come to know God. He is still being honored today. He experiencied a miracle as he saw the God of Heaven rescue him from the mouths of lions.
We see Esther the Queen who sacrifice her entire life for our good and protected the line to salvation along with her shining cousin Mordecai. Together they stood firm in the face of adversity as they risked their own live for others. There joy was full in God’s intervention.
We’ve read of sorrowing Naomi who through countless tradgedies in her life saw bitterness turned to joy as she witness the kindness of the Kinsman Redeemer and was then able to hold the precious baby in her arms who was next in line to the birth of Christ.
Horatio and Anna Spafford suffered horrible loss throughout their lifetime that never seem to end and yet during the loss of four daughters brought to this world the treasure called… “It is Well With My Soul”
Their suffering was rewarded in a life lived in the Holy Land, and seeing countless children of Abraham come to Christ, both Jew and Gentile! The view from the rooftop was the constant reminder of what Jesus did for them: The Garden tomb and Golgatha.
John Newton was an infidel, a slavetrader that lived a wretched life until God saved him during a storm. He carried the storm of memories for most of life as he ministered to many people, yet felt the heavyness of those that he had been so cruel to. In his grief and sorrow, he left to us the most sung hymn in history to this day! Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!!! God let him live and participate in the abolishion of slavery as it was outlawed in England. This was a tall glass of lemonade for him.
The Apostle Paul was a murderer who gave us the words of life. Sour for sweet!
Amongst the disciples we find the impulsive Peter, the denier of Christ, who walked on water and knew the feeling of the immediate outstretched hand of Christ as he sank in unbelief. Joy unsinkable!
There was Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego who walked in the fire for their faithfulness and found Jesus beside then and were unharmed by the fire.
And last we have an entire book of Job that gives us enough lemonaid to never thirst again.
Yes, Lemonade is still the best choice for the follower
of Christ. In your distress, it will refresh you so that you can refresh others.
It is a promise from God.
Proverb 27:7
The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
1Peter 1:7-8
7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Job 23:10
But he knoweth the way that I take, when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.