Sanctification Smoothie

When Gavin was a little baby, I had decided that I wasn’t getting enough fruit in my system, so I started making smoothies in the morning. I just don’t do as well eating fruit as I do vegetables.  I do a better job of drinking things, so I started drinking my fruits instead. Then someone told me that when they were trying to gain weight they drank smoothies a lot because of all the calories in them. That made me think I was doing the opposite of what I was trying to do, so I altered my routine and I quit drinking the smoothies.

Over the last year I have been working with a health coach and I have learned a lot. One thing I learned was that those smoothies I was drinking to get more fruit in my diet really were good for me. Over the last few years, Weight Watchers changed their system and no longer gives points for fruit. They claim that while there are sugar and calories in fruit, the health benefits we get from eating them is way better than something else we might pick up to eat. They found that having this freedom when teaching about foods that are healthy and good for you was important. As far as I know, they haven’t run into anyone gaining a ton of weight because they ate too many strawberries.

Now when I look at fruit, I see smoothies. I want to blend them all up and drink it as a frozen drink. So tasty! The smoothie has changed my life. I also used to struggle with what to eat for breakfast. I used to have a sugary frozen-type coffee with a banana for breakfast. That combo never seemed to fill my stomach, so I always went searching for more. It was certainly way worse than what I have now, a fruit-packed smoothie, a banana, a little juice, and a yogurt. I now drink it guilt free and enjoy every minute of it. I know the calories in it are the ones that are good for me and will keep me going and healthy.

Now that I have told you about my breakfast habits, what’s my point? The people of Israel had been counting calories for a long time. They knew, because of sin, they must watch every action they did. They knew sin was lurking around every corner. They understood that God required a sacrifice for their sins. So, in a sense, they were counting calories, always trying to live the way God wanted them live and watching out for sin. When Jesus came and fulfilled the law, making the final sacrifice for all our sins, there was now a new freedom for the people. Yet, this new freedom was hard to understand; they were so used to counting calories. In our Galatians passage for today, Paul tries to help them understand where they needed to count calories and where they do not.  He said that any time you are producing the fruit that is in the image of God (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self control) you can eat/do as much of that as you want. Drink that smoothie and enjoy it!  But, like happened to me, the warnings from others so many times before, made them nervous. Yet, they soon learned that because of Jesus, the “sanctification smoothie” was different than anything they had ever seen or felt before. It was easier to get and produce the fruit that was in the image of God.

This weekend we take time to talk about freedom in Christ and what it means for us. Where are the fruits that need no law or guidance, and where are the areas that need the law and guidance to keep us away from sin?