Making Fake Fruit

I’d been told it wasn’t possible to hate kiwi. Still, as a friend handed me a fresh kiwi one day at college, I protested with every fiber of my being. “They’re soggy, gross, and tasteless. Don’t make me put it in my mouth. Please! I’ll try anything else. I don’t care that they’re grown in your garden and just picked last week. I hate kiwis!”

My friend (who later became my husband), smirked and told me if I was right he’d never make me eat fruit again. “I just have a feeling you didn’t get real fruit in Alaska. Try trusting me? Maybe you hate kiwis, or maybe you never had a real kiwi.”

He had a good point. Growing up in Alaska, nearly all our fruit was picked before it was ripe, then frozen and shipped to our grocery stores. Fruit was tasteless, but it’s all I knew. As I held my glaring stare at Peter, I prepared for the assault on my tastebuds.

It never came! The kiwi was tender but full of flavor and actually enjoyable.

I had only been acquainted with fruit which was rarely ripe, and that turned me off towards produce in general. I never knew I was missing out on the real thing.

The Bible tells us our faith bears fruit. Are we doing what it takes to present those around us with the real Fruit of the Spirit? Or are we only producing a “fake” look-alike and therefore turning people away from a desire to pursue Christ?