For years, I’ve stared down pineapples at the grocery store, telling them that I’d enjoy them more if they’d just be a bit, you know, easier? But last week, I saw a video of a pineapple hack, with just four easy steps to get to the fruit: 1) Twist off the rooster-y top. 2) Pound the bottom on the counter. 3) Roll it out on its side. 4) Grab one of the spikey things and pull out a section of fruit.
No tools. No cutting board. No mess.
I was still thinking about that hack days later when I was attempting to share some Bible verses with my youngest. Before I even got to the verses, he protested, “The Bible is too hard!” I get it. The Bible can seem a bit like that spiky, off-putting fruit. We can know of the goodness that waits inside, but sometimes it can just feel a bit impenetrable.
What my son didn’t know is that, as mind-blowing as that four-step pineapple epiphany is, we have an even easier way to get into the Word. God opens those precious pages to us with one simple step: His presence. I ached for my son to know that, to change his prickly perception.
So, rather than trying to cut the entire fruit up at once, we pulled out one section. As we read, his expression changed. He repeated the verses. Then, I could see it: he tasted the sweetness. Those letters on the page came alive and those nourishing words ministered to his spirit.
He was eating the fruit of the Living Word. No tools. No cutting board. No mess. His presence brought the pages to life, and the words gave him strength and nourishment as they touched his mouth and heart.
Read the rest at The Joyful Life Magazine.