No More GMO Life

Today I was enjoying the incredible, indescribably delectable taste of a tomato given to me by a coworker. This, my friends, is a tomato taken straight from her husband's garden! Observe the rich red and the thick pulp. I wish I could let you smell it. It has a pungent scent and rich flavor. I have never tasted such a tomato! It lacks the slightly jarring acidity of a store bought tomato and actually has a sweetness to it. Oh, my. So good. And you know what? I don't really even like tomatoes :)

I wonder how much we would genuinely enjoy if we knew what it were really supposed to be like? Think about it. We live in a chemicalized, fake world. Our fruits and veggies are not only diminished in taste and nutrients because they are shipped from afar, but they are also human-engineered to make them profit machines. What we eat is a shadow of what God created to give us.

But I believe this is symptomatic of what has happened with more than just food. The good things in life (love, fulfillment, delight, etc.) are a shadow of what He wants for us. Romantic love is defined before our eyes by movies and other media. Canned romance. We are told from our youth what type of person is attractive, and what type isn't. Canned perception of beauty. We are told what intelligence is and how to tell if you have it (grades in school, man-made IQ tests, etc.). Canned appreciation of what we and others have to offer. Magazines and ads tell us what good style is. Canned development of our own opinion. We are even told what kind of food and drink a classy person would enjoy. Think of terms like "the finer things in life," a set of things that define those who are to be held in awe. Canned admiration.

Thankfully, as with any illusion, knowing the truth will set us free! Don't allow the falsehood to make you cynical, though. Realize that the fakeness of these things we see doesn't mean no such thing exists. The first time I tasted a real apple from a tree, it made me wonder what other fruits and veggies must really be like. Let this set you on a journey! As in, models being airbrushed doesn't mean we give up on beauty and health. There IS a real beauty, both external and internal, and it comes bubbling up from a spirit filled with Jesus' love! Romantic love exists because God made your heart to be connected with someone who is right for you, and for whom you are right! Delighting in the things you love is commendable no matter what magazines say. Media is media, but there's so much more to life! You have your family, your friends, your job, and the dynamics of your life that are not defined by those things. You get to live not to conform, but to love. Receive God's beauty from the beautiful things and people around you. Give God's beauty from the beauty He stored in you.

This is no easy change to make in your own strength, but it's a cinch when you let God do it in you! And it is surely worth having! Living fake means reaping fake results. It's like being caught up in a dream world where you are eating a feast only to wake and still be hungry. God will call you to let go of old ways of thinking, through which He will direct you. That can be hard at first. But once you taste the real thing (genuine love, genuine confidence), nothing will convince you to go back!

Happy journeying to great tomatoes, my friends! Bless you.