Love that Corn

7/7/09
Fresh corn in the summertime. Mmmm, mmmm, mmm----yum, yum! Nothing better. Fresh picked “sweet” corn eaten on the cob isn’t quite as easy to maneuver with my new mouth so I spent the morning cutting it off the cob for “fried corn” as my grandmother, Mama Davenport, taught me. The first slice is carefully done so that only the tips of the kernels are removed. Slice #2 gets the middle of the kernel and #3 goes a little deeper. Then, you “milk it” by pulling the knife backwards up the cob. For me this is an outside job, a real labor of love, because the corn “juice/milk” splatters everywhere and it takes time to get a skillet full---20-24 ears.

Maybe all that work got to me because I pictured the corn on the cob as an analogy of the fruit of the Spirit. Each ear had kernels from the same source and yet some were different in size and “condition”---from full and plump to sort of shriveled. That’s just like the facets/qualities/characteristics of the fruit of God’s Spirit in me. Some days my kernels of peace and joy might look like big ripe kernels---mature and “tasty” for the watching world to see. On the other hand, my “patience” kernels are near the end of the stalk, not as mature and a little farther from the source. Those kernels look a little dried out. There’s probably not much flavor. It’s hard to imagine the taste of fresh corn. Folks aren’t drawn to choose corn where most of the kernels are shriveled because they know it’s probably not very “tasty.”

How about me? Am I walking in the Spirit? Can people see the fruit of the Spirit in my life. Can others taste and see the goodness of the Lord by observing my actions, especially in the area of patience?

THOTS---How about my source? I know Galatians 5:22,23 list 9 qualities of the fruit of the Spirit. I also know that love is listed first. Yet, I’m still meditating on this because, to me, that first quality seems to be the “source” for all of the others. Because of His love, the other qualities of joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. can be present in my life. God is love and it is His love that reproduces the fruit of His life in me---that love that I can show to others---a reflection of Him. Hmmm---that quality of love that I can show to others. Maybe that’s it----maybe I’ve found the answer to my own ponderings.