Be a grape? What a strange thing to say! Well, let’s think about this for a minute. What are grapes good for?
Grapes can make a lovely decoration piled in a bowl as a centerpiece, but not for long. Give that decor a week or two, and you’ll be gazing upon quite the mold farm. Ewww. That’s definitely not what we want to be. So we shouldn’t just sit around looking nice, then? What are grapes for?
Here’s a short list: juice, jam, jelly, wine, fruit salad, chicken salad… I’m sure you could name a few that I’ve missed. Look back over that list. Do any of those uses not require the grapes to be crushed? Grapes are most useful when crushed in order to either create something else, or simply to be swallowed as food (swallowing them whole is not generally recommended).
Be a grape. A grape doesn’t fight back against the chef or hungry soul. How often in life we fight against the crushing process because it’s simply too uncomfortable! We can’t see any good possibly coming from such pressure, so we resist with all that is within us. Dare I say that we have forgotten how to trust?
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Romans 8:28 NLT
Not only are we called to trust God’s purposes and master plan, we are called to be joyful in the painful processes!
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
Romans 5:3-4 NLT
So yes, be a grape… Not a moldy one on the counter, but a useful one in God’s kingdom! Let Him use your life as an example of what can happen when we are fully surrendered to His plans and purposes. You will be amazed at how much more than “just a grape” you become.
Lauri Hawley 