An Apple A Day
01/16/2022
I’m sure almost everyone has heard the saying “an Apple a day keeps the doctor away.” In its simplest form, this statement does present a fraction of truth, that a healthy diet could help prevent a need for a medical intervention in certain situations. I think we all would agree however that this statement is lacking significantly when it comes to a complete diet or robust healthcare plan for our bodies.
The reality is that it wouldn’t take more than 1 day for you to recognize that a daily Apple (although healthy in its own way) is far from enough to sustain you. Also, it would take one diagnosis or one new symptom to make us realize that our bodies are in need of further intervention.
There is even some spiritual truth to to another common phrase, “you are what you eat”, because our consumption of truth (like our consumption of food) does, in fact, dictate our health and growth in many ways.
When we look at a goal of a mature (Christlike) character, we see parallels between “maturity” and “health.”
Mature character will lead to a healthy church body. In Sunday’s message, Pastor Rich highlighted this idea of spiritual nourishment for growing into this maturity.
Back to the apples analogy…
-Are we only learning ABOUT apples (TRUTH) or are we actually CONSUMING them?
– Are we pairing our single, daily apple (TRUTH) with a remaining diet of corn syrup, oil, or even poison?
The statistics show that our “Christian” culture is severely malnourished.
-Only about 33% of U.S Americans attend church at least once a month
-Only about 11% of U.S Americans read the Bible daily.
With limitless information at our finger tips (including scripture), we may need to address our consumption.
It seems we need to, now more than ever, resist this “apple a day” philosophy with the truth of God, for spiritual growth to take place in our lives.
Let’s take this week to do give ourselves a health exam. Does our spiritual diet and workout routine lead to a maturing faith? = (healthy relationships with God and others)
Closing Prayer
May the bond of peace of Jesus Christ go with us,
as we seek to love God as one.
May He guide us in humility, gentleness,
and patience as we love people as we have been loved. May the compassion of Jesus Christ be in us
as we serve the world in word and deed.
May He bring us together again,
rejoicing as His children as we live in Real Life with Christ.