A cherry pit

Heavenly wisdom centers on purity, peace, gentleness, deference, mercy, and other good fruits untainted by hypocrisy. The seed that flowers into righteousness will always be planted in peace by those who embrace peace.  (James 3:17-18 VOICE)

At the center of a cherry is a pit.  The purpose of the pit isn't to just "fill space" - it is surrounded by juicy cherry pulp, but in and of itself, the pit is just a pit.  As the cherry falls to the ground, the cherry pulp begins to break down.  As it does, it provides a way for the pit to be nourished and then to take root, growing into a new cherry tree.  Without the pulp, the pit is kind of on its own.  It is much like just getting book learning "wisdom" of some sort, but not having it surrounded by the stuff which actually feeds it until it becomes the wisdom God would want us to actually use in our lives!

Heavenly wisdom is that which is fed by purity, gentleness, deference, mercy and other good fruits "untainted" by hypocrisy. That is a mouthful, to say the least, so let's break that down a little. As we are being taught of God, one thing comes through very clearly - his wisdom is contained in an atmosphere of purity - that place "untainted" by anything which pollutes.  Inside every "good teaching" is a little bit of truth we need in our lives.  We have to learn to find the "pit" in every good teaching and then allow it to be surrounded by the "pulp" of God's Spirit until that teaching breaks down a little, allowing that truth to take root in our lives.  Some of us are so concerned with the "pulp", we forget the pit!  The pulp satisfies us right now, but the pit will keep us satisfied for a long, long time!

Heavenly wisdom actually is nurtured in an atmosphere of by peace and gentleness. If we are to see wisdom take root, we need to surround it with enough peace in our mind and soul to actually allow it to speak to us.  We also need to keep in mind the importance of gentleness - the "evenness" of temperament which embraces the good stuff and rejects the stuff which will harm. To this we add the mixture of mercy and "deference".  Deference is just a big word to describe our will yielding to the will of the one who is teaching us.  Jesus always said to his disciples, "Follow me", not "Lead me."  There is room for one leader in our lives and wisdom requires it to be Christ.  The pulp of the cherry knows it is "good stuff", but until it fulfills the true purpose for its existence, it is just "good stuff".  What moves it from being "good stuff" to being "awesome" is when it fulfills the purpose for which it was created - to be an avenue for growth and development.

The reason heavenly wisdom is nurtured and grows best in the atmosphere of peace, gentleness, and deference is because it knows the benefits and blessings of grace (mercy).  The cherry could be a blessing to one, or it could be a blessing to many. Grace is never meant to be enjoyed alone, my friends.  It is meant to become a blessing to many who will be nurtured under the widespread boughs of its branches and with the plethora of fruit it will produce for others to enjoy!  Just sayin!

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