2266) I remember someone giving me an unripe persimmon what I was a kid. Fifty years later, I can still almost taste the bitterness.

This fruit isn’t supposed to be eaten at this stage. If it had ripened naturally, it would have been sweet with a little taste of honey.

As I think about fruit, John 15:15 comes to mind. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (NIV)

Many times, a fruit is bitter tasting not because it’s unripe but because it didn’t get the nurturing of the vine. It could also be because it wasn’t rooted in good soil.

If we don’t depend on Jesus–the true vine, there will be little chance our fruit will be healthy and sweet.

Wouldn’t it be better if people who are exposed to our fruit find it sweet and healthy?