Not A Significant Source Of Nutrition

O

ne afternoon, I went to the snack area to buy a soft drink.  After spending several hours on the computer, I needed a break and decided it would be a good time for a pack of crackers and something cold and wet to wash them down with.  Buying the crackers came easy; deciding what to drink didn't. 

There were three drink machines to choose from.  Two of them dispensed soft drinks in the can and the other one gave soft drinks in larger, plastic bottles.  I opted for a canned drink and, just to make myself feel better, I selected one of the popular diet sodas.  I sat down at one of the tables, opened the crackers and the drink, and began eating my snack.

About half way through my break, I read the labels on the crackers and the drink.  There was the usual information, calories per serving, number of fat grams, the percentage of all the vitamins, etc.  In addition to this information, the soft drink's label included a different statement.  Just underneath the chart of nutritional information was a statement indicating that the contents of the drink were not a significant source of nutrition.  What, I wondered had I put into my body?  Although the drink tasted good and addressed the need to quench my thirst, it contained nothing that would benefit my body.  Instead of the soda, I should have selected fruit juice which would have both satisfied my thirst and been good for my body.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul provided them with a list of ingredients for a healthy spiritual life.  He called these the fruit of the Spirit, the tell-tale signs of God's presence in our lives.  Galatians 5:22-24 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."  Paul lists those qualities which mark us as true believers in Jesus Christ and those who seek to walk as he did.  Everything in this list is good for us spiritually.  These qualities demonstrate the presence of God's Spirit living within us, supplying all our needs.

The last sentence of this passage underlines a very important aspect of our spiritual walk with God.  Notice that Paul states that if we are in Christ, we have crucified the flesh, our past lives, and have adopted Christ's example.  In other words, we have adopted a new lifestyle, placing into our hearts only those things which are good for us and our relationship with Jesus.  Although other things look appealing, they don't really satisfy or meet our needs.  They meet our wants for a while, but leave us thirsting for something else. 

People all around us are reading our lives, much like they read the ingredients on the products they buy.  What do our lives say about the content of our hearts?  What do our actions say about the content of our characters?  What information do our lives convey today to those reading their content?  Do they resemble a container of fruit juice, full of vitamins and necessary nutrients to sustain life, or do they resemble that statement on my can of soda, "Not a Significant Source of Nutrition"?  That is the question for today!