If you get a car that breaks down all of the time, you bought a lemon. If you get stuck with anything that doesn’t work, well, you got a lemon. But what do you call a lemon that doesn’t work?
A few days ago I made a batch of tabouli, ( a middle eastern salad made with cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, parsley, burghul wheat, spices, lemon juice and olive oil.) I juiced two fresh lemons and added to the salad. It tasted pretty bland, so I juiced two more. That should be enough lemon to knock your socks off. However, nobody at dinner seemed to like the tabouli as much as usual. There were no hearty seconds or accolades for the usual favorite dish. “Oh well, even Chef Ramsey has his off nights,” I thought.
Last night I made another middle eastern dish, m’lakhiye (you whiteys don’t even need to try to say this.) This dish is greens sort of like spinach served with chicken over rice. (sorry no photo, I wasn’t thinking!) M’lakhiye is quite tasty. We serve lemons as a garnish for everybody to squeeze over the top of the dish.
E.J. (my husband) squeezed his lemon, then tasted. He squeezed another lemon, then another and another! Those darn lemons weren’t any good! Somehow I had gotten a bad batch of lemons. They weren’t sour. They put out water, but it was fake lemon water. No zip, no tang, just BLAH. What do you call a lemon that doesn’t work? (Leave your comments if you have any ideas! 
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box of salt
This reminded me of the story Jesus told his followers in Matthew 5 about salt. He told this story right after he warned true followers that people will say and do evil things to them because of Him. Jesus told them not to worry though, because their reward would be great in heaven.
Jesus went on to say, “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, (its strength, its quality) how can its saltiness be restored? It is good for nothing except to be thrown out and walked on.”
Salt was extremely valuable in Biblical times. It was used as a preservative and a medicine. It was even useful for bartering, and was just as good as money. (Ever heard of anybody being “worth their salt”?)
When we live God’s word in front of others, it preserves them spiritually. God’s truth is the medicine and preservative of the souls of our spiritually dead friends and neighbors. Without it they are doomed.
But what good are we if we are just like everybody else? No zip, no tang, just BLAH. Just trying to get by, compromising our beliefs, acting like everybody else. We are good for nothing except to be thrown out. And that’s excactly what I’m going to do with the rest of those lemons!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Robin…This story reminded me of a sermon I heard about 30 years ago by Dudley Hall… It’s title was, “What do you get when you squeeze a lemon?”. I remember little of the actual sermon, but the message has remained with me ever since: “What do you get when you squeeze a lemon? You get whatever is inside the lemon!” When we are ‘squeezed’, the product of our life…the fruit is a result of what is inside us! If the Love of Christ is in us, then when we are squeezed, His Love will pour forth from us. If we feed on bitterness, then guess what the result is? I don’t know what happened to your disappointing lemons, but I know I want my ‘lemon’ to feed on Phil. 4:8…Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. By doing so, the result will be what Paul taught in Galatians 5:22…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
God BLESS You Today!!!
In Christ,
Melissa Thompson
Wow! Thanks, Melissa! That is a great message! Thanks for taking time to write!