Vitamins for the Soul.

Grace has been defined as unmerited favour. The greek word that underlies almost every instance of the word in the AV text is also translated favour. It carries with it the idea of thankfulness and gratitude that allows God's character to be reflected in the life of the one receiving the favour.

Dr. Henry Cloud has an excellent book that discusses the subject - Integrity. In it, he uses the example of a parent and child relationship.
"To achieve is the child's responsibility, but to empower the child is the parent's responsibility. So, instead of just setting the standard, the parent of grace gives support, coaching, teaching, structure, modeling, help and consequences to empower the child to get there. Those are things the child cannot provide and so are 'unmerited' they are given without being earned, and that is grace. But, grace is not removing the standard."

I highly recommend the book and Dr. Cloud's other material. I'm not usually an advocate of anyone operating with a degree in psychological training. However, I first read this book about a year ago and am on my second go around.

When I read the quote above I think of character development in terms of nutrition. Take, for instance, the diseases of scurvy and rickets. Almost all disease stems from a lack of something in the diet.

Scurvy is a lack of vitamin C. It once afflicted sailors on long voyages. Fresh fruits and vegetables will prevent scurvy. Scurvy is characterized by swollen and bleeding gums with loosened teeth, soreness and stiffness of the joints and lower extremities, bleeding under the skin and internally, wounds are slow to heal, and anemia. Connective tissues cannot form properly.

Rickets is a condition where the bones are softened and easily fractured. Deformity often results. Insufficient vitamin D is the primary cause. It can easily occur in breastfed babies when either they or their mother do not have adequate exposure to sunlight.

The church is the body of Christ on earth. In Galatians chapters 5 and 6 we are given the format of how to help others grow and restore them to fellowship. If you look, it teaches we are to shed some things, share some things, and shoulder some things. The word Restore is a medical term and refers to setting bones.

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Galatians 6.1

For people to grow they must have plenty of fruit in their diet. The fruit allows the body to keep out infection. They also need plenty of exposure to Son-Light to develop a strong backbone for convictions and well formed limbs to handle the challenges life will present.

Those more mature are to model Christ-like behaviour. You cannot give what you do not possess. God sheds grace upon believers and as we receive that in gratitude, His light is reflected upon others. The fruit of His Spirit can work in their lives and give them what they need to meet the demands of reality. When a Christian doesn't do this, disease enters the body.

We need to examine ourselves regulary to see if those around us are malnourished because we are not reflecting God's grace. We must ask ourselves, if those around us seem to be falling short, could it be that we are now giving them a diet of the fruit?


"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Galatians 5.22-23.