When Life Deals You Lemons

The New Testament speaks extensively about fruit and growth. One of my favorite passages is in John, where Jesus encourages us to live and abide in Him, the true vine. He states, "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener" (John 15:1). He continues, "Yes, I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them will produce much fruit" (John 15:5). According to John, we are called to produce fruit, and the key to this fruitfulness lies in staying connected to the "true vine." 

Over the past few weeks, Lee and I have learned a valuable lesson about fruit. We have owned a house in Freeport for eight years, where we discovered two lemon trees in the backyard. One winter, one of the trees succumbed to exposure, leaving only the lemon tree next to the house. I mostly ignored it until about four years ago when I decided to harvest some fruit to make lemonade. After squeezing a bunch of lemons, adding sugar, and tasting the result, I was disappointed; it was the worst lemonade I had ever made! Despite my efforts, it was inedible. Fast forward to late January this year: Lee looked out to see that the tree was covered with fruit—more than we had ever seen! However, there was something unusual about the fruit; it wasn’t yellow but orange! We picked one of these "lemons" (which were really oranges) and tasted it. To our surprise, it was delicious! Last Sunday, the congregation in the first service enjoyed fresh-cut oranges for breakfast. The tree that had produced terrible lemons turned out to make wonderful oranges! 

From this experience, I learned several important lessons: 

1. **The obvious lesson**: Unripe oranges make terrible lemons. They are so bitter that they couldn't be salvaged. I think about how often people tell young folks, "You can be anything you want to be." That advice can be misleading. Instead of listening to cultural messages, what if we listened to our Creator? God made us, and we thrive when we remain close to the "true vine," Jesus. He understands our design and when we are at our best, living within the "sweet spot" of our purpose. This happens when we abide in Him and align our lives with His will. Be who and what you were created to be! That is where you will find happiness, fulfillment, and fruitfulness. 

2. **The second lesson**: Ripe, fresh oranges are wonderful fruit. As Psalm 139 states, "I was fearfully and wonderfully made." When God created that orange tree, He knew exactly what He was doing. 

3. **Finally**: Fruit is best when it is ripe. The oranges resembled lemons until they reached their peak ripeness. Many of us have faced trials, difficulties, and mistakes throughout our lives. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t experienced some major challenges. Satan often presents us with problems and suggests we rely on the wrong solutions to deal with them. The secret to transforming my faux lemons was to abide in the truth of their creation, design, and destiny. The fruit remained on the tree until it became exactly what it was meant to be. In a world that craves quick fixes, perhaps we should allow God to lead, teach, and help us grow into our best selves. In Matthew 11, Jesus invites us to "take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, and you will find rest for your souls." I love that word "rest," as it signifies completion or ripeness. This completion is part of a process of growing in Christ! 

"Abide in Me, and I in you, and you will produce much fruit!" This is Jesus' instruction in John 15. He is the true grapevine, and the Father is the gardener. Why should we do this? John 15:8 reminds us, "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father.” When life feels sour, like a lemon, remember to abide in Jesus, and you might just discover you are an amazing orange!