Needs some sugar

I bought my first watermelon of the season this week. Although you can get them year round now via the local supermarket, they are not grown locally and do not taste as good. And the ones now at the produce stands and markets are not actually grown here, I don't think. I am no expert at fresh produce, but I suspect they would be from south of here. At any rate, this is the time when you typically buy the watermelons. Cut them in half, put them in the refrigerator, and allow to chill. Then pull them out, slice them, and eat. Wow, I can taste it now!

My wife had already bought one last week at the produce stand, so this was not actually our first. It was pretty good. I stopped by the local supermarket yesterday for milk, coke, and bread. I saw the stack of watermelons and happily put one in the cart.

I will confess to you that I have sinned. I did the unthinkable. I bought produce from the supermarket, and not from the produce stand. Trish (wife) thinks you only get fruit and vegetables from the produce stand. When I arrived home yesterday morning I unloaded the milk, coke, and bread. And I cut the watermelon in half. More about my sin in a moment...

Zach, our five year old grandson, was spending the day. He never had a taste for watermelon until this year. As a matter of fact he only discovered last week that he liked watermelons. So he waited with anticipation, as I did, for the watermelon to chill. He announced we would have it for dessert, after lunch. So when lunch came, we made our sandwiches and ate. Zachary announced afterward that he was ready for dessert- watermelon. Happy to oblige, I was ready for a slice, too, figuring it was good, cold, and tasty.

When I cut the watermelon in half I didn't pay too much attention to the color. But when Trish began to cut the slices for me and Zach, she announced that the watermelon wasn't ripe. Taking a bite of mine, I said it was ok. After eating some of it, I told her that she was correct, it wasn't ripe, and wasn't eatable. But I didn't say anything to Zach. I didn't want to disappoint him. He was in the kitchen, and I had whispered to Trish that it wasn't good. But my sin was revealed to Zachary. I had picked a green watermelon.

He came into the living room where I was sitting and announced to me and his maw maw "This watermelon needs some sugar." Zach had hit the nail on the head, so to speak. It needed some sugar. It wasn't sweet.

I know some people like the green watermelon... not sweet. Bitter, mean spirited, selfish, bad attitudes. Rude, unkind. People who are not pleasant to be around. Like my watermelon, they look ok on the outside. But inwardly, their fruit is not pleasant. It may be because of situations they are facing, adjustments they have made. Whatever the reason, one thing is clear- they need some sugar in their lives.

I want to be sweet, not bitter, don't you? I want my life to have the fruit of the spirit, which is always ripe and always sweet. If you pick on or from me, I hope you get some sugar.

Blessings,
Pastor Ronnie