The Spirituality behind Bananas

Banana is a funny word, weird fruit even. I love the repetition of vowels and consonants in the a-n-a-n-a. Then they trick you and throw an s in there for good measure just to keep you honest. The banana is fascinating really.

I mean, you can take a banana, stick it in the freezer, it turns black, you peel it and the inside can be unharmed. Amazing!

How do you eat a banana? That is assuming you even like bananas. Some don’t, in fact, some are repulsed by them. I don’t know if I am repulsed by any fruit really. Although I do like some more than others, like grapes (red or white…I used to think red grapes were different and never tried them, then I realized much later in my life that red grapes are in fact the same as if not better than white grapes, but I do like white grape juice better) over pineapple. Although pineapple is gaining a strong place among liked fruits.

I have actually met people who have been afraid of fruit. Like a real, substantial fear of strawberries or somehting. I mean, I can understand a fear of wig heads or snakes or clowns, but c'mon, what can a strawberry do? Anyway, some people eat bananas as long as they are not bruised. The bruises make the banana soft, but some do have an hankerin’ for a good bruised banana. I will eat bruised bananas, but I there is a cut off where the banana becomes too bruised. I am sure you can understand that.

I digress. When you eat bananas, how do you eat them. I don’t mean to ask whether you eat them over cereal or dried or something along those lines, but I want to know…Peel then eat or peel while eating?

Here are the results of a recent survey*:

Survey
Todd/Peel then eat
Angela/Peel while eating
Hunter/Peel while eating
Hope/Peel while eating
Bob/Peels to end, leaving tip of peel to hold
Karen/Peel while eating

(*Non-scientific Poll. Probably a pretty large margin of error.)

So I was thinking about bananas and about my walk with God…
I am not saying those that do not peel then eat aren’t full on, running after what God has for them, but I am saying that we shouldn't hesitate and play it safe when it comes to following God. Peel it, man! Go after the things God calls you to. Where will we be if we are always neat, tidy, peel-while-eating believers. Hey, following God, I mean in that serious obedience, sacrificed, surrendered life kind of way is not always clean, neat, and tidy.

I think that we have to understand that truly following Christ means that we will get our hands messy, and we will sometimes have to eat the bruised parts…(whoa….that’s a whole other survey now isn’t it?)

Long Time, No Blog (The Wimpification of the American Christian)

I was just wondering tonight why we, as believers in our country, are content to just sit in our pews or chairs or bean bags (wherever you sit on the church worship center food chain) and settle for totally missing the cross for a few laughs, a good video, or challenging lesson that we soon file away into some place in our history never to drawn on again. Or we just are content to show up and never engage or really not even pay attention or engage with the living body of Christ that has assembled with us.



We absolutely have no understanding of the cross and for what Christ did for us and what we have in all of that!

I can tell it happens because we have rendered the Gospel, this Great Salvation, useless, ineffective. You see, our lives often are no different, our lives do not reflect any part of the life that God has called us to. I am guilty, too. So many times I am a poor reflector of God's glory, of this life inside of me. Or maybe I just have painted over the life on the outside so it hides light on the inside. Whatever the picture, dangerous and tragic none-the-less.

We have stopped in the participation in our faith daily, privately to weekly, corporately. We have ceased living out this life God put in us through Christ.

Don't get me wrong...I think pews are fine, chairs are fine, bean bags are fine, I love a good video (I saw one tonight that was really good), and think challenging Truth from Biblical messages (That was good tonight as well) are vital. But seriously Church, let us scrape off the paint that hides the light, let's clean the mirror so the light can radiate, so Christ can reflect. Let us not wimp out and accept some cheap, empty religion or soon-gone experience we have traded for true life in Christ. Don't wimp out. The world needs more.

Philemon 6