Mark Sorensen Did you know in Japan they have recently begun growing square watermelons? Seriously. It’s a thing.
Apparently, store space is limited and conventional watermelons are, obviously, big and round. The problem then, is “where do you store and sell these watermelons with limited space?” So, someone had an idea: “Let’s grow them in a box!” Which is exactly what they’re doing. As the melons grow, they conform to the box they’re grown in which leads to nice, uniform-sized watermelons that can then be shipped, stored and even fit inside refrigerators in an easier and more convenient way.
Crazy, right?
You know, that’s not a bad analogy in regards to what the apostle Paul is teaching when he shares from Romans 12. To the followers of Jesus who are running the risk of blending in with the world rather than being set apart from it, Paul shares the following:
Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity. God brings out the best in you, develops well formed maturity in you. – Romans 12:2-3 MSG
Remember that stat that I shared from last Sunday’s Word? On average, you will have 50,000 thoughts today. Of those 50,000 thoughts, 95% of those are what you’re carrying over from yesterday. So the question then becomes, who’s dictating our worth and value? Are we letting culture speak that into us, or are we getting it from the One who breathed life into us? The truth is, the more we fill our tanks with the Words of God, the more we remind ourselves that we are made in His image, in His likeness. We are created with a purpose – to be image bearers of His glory and greatness and that is a fruit of the Spirit that people are really hungry to taste.
