I’m not big on dessert, probably because I stuff myself with meat at the start of dinner and don’t leave room for dessert. My better half is just the opposite and will choose dessert as a starter!

As the sixth child of a couple in the ministry, we didn’t have much, but that doesn’t mean there was no dessert. My mother made many plans to serve something sweet after Sunday dinner.

Most of the time, it was some kind of canned fruit with ideal milk. Preserving fruit is a lot of hard work. The farmers in the congregation dropped crates of fruit at the rectory, and then all the fruit had to be peeled.

Many pots of fruit were boiled, and gallons of syrup were made. When everything had cooled, the golden yellow peaches or pink guavas were carefully slipped into the syrup, and the lid screwed on very tightly. Then, the crystal-clear bottles of preserved fruit were stacked on the very top shelf of the pantry for later use.

I was always fascinated by how long the fruit stayed fresh in the syrup. Months and even years later, you could take out the fruit and syrup; it still smelled and tasted like when it first went into the bottle.

It’s as if a protective layer surrounds the fruit. The syrup prevents any bacteria soldiers from getting to them and rotting them piece by piece. If the defence syrup weren’t there, the fruit would start rotting within a day or two.

When we become children of God, God does with us as the syrup does with the fruit. God protects us. God forms a layer between us and the enemy, preventing us from becoming rotten.

Listen to this verse: ⁵God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.

The canned fruit is actually protected by the syrup, because the syrup preserves the fruit. God forms a dense layer around us; He preserves us. He is strong enough to ward off any attacks and protect us against spiritual hurt.

It’s good news for us who believe, and we can sleep peacefully in the syrup without worrying about what will happen to us. It brings us enormous peace of mind.

But when I look around, life is full of rotten fruit. People are afraid of everything that might and does happen to them. People live in fear and do not know how to withstand their enemies.

We know. We believe. We experience it personally every day. I suspect it’s part of our assignment here on earth to live it. We have to tell the other fruits about the syrup. We must prevent them from becoming rotten and invite them to come within the protection of our Father.

May we find the power of the Holy Spirit today to do just that.

Scripture
1 Peter 1:3-5

Reflection
What does God’s protection do to you?
What do you do with God’s protection?
What does it do to others around you?

Prayer
Father, thank you for Your protection. Thank you that I don’t have to be afraid or face the attacks alone. Please help me in helping others to slip into their protection syrup. Amen.