When my kids were little, I taught them a lesson from the crab apple. You see, crab apples are dull and often dirty when they lay on the ground. However, if you take one and buff it just a little with your t-shirt, the apple immediately takes on a glorious shine!
See them? They are dull, dirty, and defeated.
But then,
just a little love...
Shiny and new! Clean and looking good!
I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this one...
We are like crab apples,
yes,
we get dull and dirty by our
sins, our burdens, our fears...
But...
No matter how damaged, broken, or dirty we become in sin, GOD can
make us clean again!
We can be forgiven and cleaned up by His grace!
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Psalms 51:10 - Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
***********************
The other lesson I see here is about treating people with kindness. People can be like crab apples. You may see someone who is crabby or having a bad day, or someone who is broken, defeated, and just tired. *It sometimes just takes one nice comment or a bit of encouragement and you can SHINE UP someone's day!
It doesn't take much and you don't need to be a licensed counselor, just give someone a smile, a simple compliment, or a hand with a daunting task.
Shine someone up today!
It will make you feel better too!
Sweet Love!
~Samantha
