It’s strawberry season already! A church member showed up Sunday with a special treat—homegrown strawberries. He had picked and picked and then was kind enough to share from his rich harvest. As I washed the ones he shared with me, I marveled at just how beautiful these berries were. Not your grocery store variety that are simply cultivated for a uniform appearance and long shelf-life with  not much flavor!  I will buy them for convenience, but they simply do not have the flavor of natural, homegrown berries. The deep, ruby red color of these home-grown beauties went all the way into the heart of the berry. You can see the juice flowing out of them!

It got me to thinking about faith and what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus.  Do we just look good on the outside like the store-bought berries, but are really empty and flavorless on the inside?

Do we go to church, put some money in the offering plate and try to look like we are Christians, when on the inside we are unconcerned about the poor, not willing to forgive and not really interested in laying down our lives for Jesus or anybody else?  Or are we like that home-grown berry that is juicy, flavorful and beautiful all the way through?  Does God see our love and faithfulness on the inside as well as the outside of our lives?  Does our faith drip out into the world in ways that transform others… and ourselves in the process?

Now for some pound cake and whipped cream!

Blessings, Pastor Cheryl