Those hot summer days of sitting on the front porch enjoying an ice-cold glass of lemonade are right around the corner!
Have you ever thought about how a fruit that is so sour as a lemon can become such a refreshing, thirst-quenching beverage? It’s kind of like as Christians, it’s hard to see how a difficult, life-altering trial could ever work out with a blessing at the end. But God’s word says it’s true.
1 Peter 4:12-13
” Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Lemonade and Character-Building
Here’s a thought provoking and fun way to make a pitcher of lemonade. All while sharing a character-building activity with your children and God’s word.
You’ve probably heard this quote before: “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” It’s a way of encouraging someone when they are encountering a difficult situation.
A lemon by itself tastes bitter. And so are difficult situations or hard trials. A scripture we can apply to this thought is:
Romans 12:21
“Be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good.”
Lemons are the trials that we want to overcome. We can overcome trials with God’s promised word.
Ingredients for Lemonade
To make a pitcher of refreshing lemonade requires only three ingredients: lemons, sugar (or honey) and water.
Lemons are the first ingredient in lemonade, but you can’t just add the whole lemon. It has to be cut to expose the inside of the fruit. We’ll need something sharp, like a knife. The bible says that the sword of the Spirit is God’s word.
Hebrews 4:12
” The word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Ephesians 6:17
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Lemon Juice
Next, you’ll need to squeeze the lemon to extract the juice.
Romans 16:20 says, “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
Crushing reminds me of squeezing. God’s peace squeezes out the sourness within my disposition. The lemon juice is now available.
Add Sweetener
We’ll need to add sugar or honey to the juice next. Sugar adds sweetness to the tartness of the lemon. You can find sweetness depicted in scripture as love.
I Corinthians 13: 4-7
“ Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”
Then Luke 6:35 tells us to love my enemies.
“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.”
The sweetness of sugar and love counteracts the sourness of lemons and cany attributes not of the Lord, caused by our enemies.
Add Water
Water is the main ingredient of lemonade.
In Revelation 22:17 it says that the water of life is a free gift.
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
And in John 7:38, Jesus says, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
Stir All Together
When we mix the squeezed lemon juice, with sweetener and water, we have lemonade.
Lemons are the trials or difficulties in life, while lemonade is a sweet drink.
Jesus says in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
As Christians, we can expect to find some lemons during our earthly lives, but we also have the assurance that the Lord will take these sour pieces of fruit and help us make lemonade.
According to Philippians 4:13,
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Romans 8:28,
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
God will help us make lemonade out of our lemons of life. So, do not become bitter when you encounter a sour experience, but remember Romans 8:37:
“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”
The Lord has a glass of sweet spiritual lemonade for you on the other side of each trial.
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” Psalm 34:8.