From looking at this, one would assume if you bit into it, that it would taste like a cucumber. And it does. But one wouldn't expect it to be bitter. Especially when other cukes picked from the same lot of cukes were crisp and tasty. Unfortunately, I put one in a salad yesterday and it was horribly bitter.
Sadly, there are some Christians, who are like the bitter cucumber. From basic observation, they appear to be faithful Christians. They tend to the sick, give to the poor, give water to the thirsty, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and even visit the imprisoned. So what likens them to a bitter cuke?
At some point in the cucumber's growth on the vine, its supply of water was interrupted, and it didn't get the water necessary to make it sweet. The same is true of a Christian who carries out a task in the name of Jesus, yet, with the spirit of His adversary. Without the flow of the Living Water, words and deeds prove bitter.
I think of two Sauls. One was ordained of God to be King of Israel. Jealousy and self-exaltation drove him to near insanity and bitter, bitter death. The other is Saul, turned Paul.
He was driven by self-righteous motives and a belief that what he was doing was of God. All the while he carried out his zealous persecution of Christians, he thought he was right in the eyes of God. What fueled his passionate display of hatred towards the followers of Jesus? Indignation? A slight? Perhaps it was being told--as a learned man of sacred writings--that he was wrong? Why did such a man, as well-versed as Saul, miss the prophetic handwriting on the scrolls? Why did it take a meeting with the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus to get Saul's attention?
Imbeded in Saul was bitterness, evidenced by his slaughter of Christians. He'd been cut off from the supply of Living Water while the Water was available on earth. I think of Saul's blindness as the way the Lord could help him see. In the darkness, could he have revisited Stephen's stoning and witnessed the glory of Christ as it shown on his face when he forgave those who stoned him?
Today we see men who profess Jesus, proclaim Him to others, yet still persecute brothers and sisters in the Lord. Only bitterness could fuel such venomous actions toward another in Christ. Only self-righteousness could breed such contempt that leads to rejoicing in any pain or suffering that another brother would endure as a result.
And only the blood of Jesus can make a bitter man better. Only in repentance can a man secure that blood. What great things the Lord could do with misused gifts, the talent, mind and abilities if only they were channeled through Him--instead of in the name of Him. selahV
[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]
