Are you an Orange or a Navel?

I have been reading and studying a book by Neil Anderson called Victory over the Darkness. I am going through it with my mentor. Fabulous book to read. I can't seem to get off this one couple of paragraphs and it has inspired me to dig into some scriptures and really understand this truth of being a new creation in Christ.

Let me first say that when I initially read the comparision of a navel and orange (which I will explain) I asked myself, "wow, am I an orange or a navel?" I know the answer now, but I will challenge you to ask yourself the same question.

You see, Paul says that "You were formely darkness, but now you are light in the Lord"
(Eph 5:8) The question comes, "are we both light and darkness?"

2Cor 5:17 says "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things passed away; behold a new thing has come."

We can't be partly new and partly old then, right. As a Christian, we can't have two natures, right?

The story goes on to explain how an orange tree is planted and it bears fruit. Physically, it is the color orange, it is round, it has a certain texture and sweetness, and it has seeds. All physical signs that it is an orange. Later, the branches are cut and they are grafted....a new root coming out from the branch....from that grows the deliciously sweet and juicy navel. Navels have the same physical features of oranges, they come from the same rootstock~ But it is definately not the same fruit~ in fact, if I understand correctly, the oranges on these trees are bitter.

The navel orange grows above the graft...it is a new creation from the orange. Its a seperate nature. Oranges can pass as a navel...until its opened up and the seeds are exposed and it is tasted and its much sweeter...not bitter. We taste it's sweetness. It has a sweet aroma....Scripture says to Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

Some things may look good, beautiful, sweet, but when surveyed and "tasted" and examined~we find it isn't authentic...its an orange...not a navel! Imposter! There is an old saying, If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck and walks like a duck, it must be a duck. I say NO. Its not necessarily a navel orange....just because it looks like one, it has to be examined...this new creation. We will know by its fruit...break it open, taste it. The Bible says we will be recognized by our fruit. If we are in the vine (Jesus) and grafted in, (which in my limited knowlege is the opposite of pruning. pruning is cutting away, and grafting is adding on) we will bear fruit of the Father, have His aroma. The navel came from being grafted.... We will be grafted.

The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, self-control, and faithfulness. (Gal 5:22) Matt 7:16 says "you will know them by their fruits and a good tree only produces good fruit and a bad tree only produces bad fruit. Not everyone who says Lord Lord will enter the kindom of heaven."

Me thinks that there are some fruits out there who may be:

1. Oranges trying to act like navels. Imposters. Trying to sneak in with the navels....

2. Oranges out there who really think they are navels...but they aren't....

Matt 7:22 says, "many will say on that day, Lord we prophesied, cast out demons, and performed many miracles (we were navels...) and God said, I never knew you"

People, its not about works...we can't be oranges and act like a navel. We aren't foolin anyone....

Then, there are some navels out there...

3. They are really navels...new creations....who have maybe fallen into the wrong basket....They are mixed up with the oranges and begin acting like the oranges....and take on the character of oranges. ...They forget who they are and that they are a new creation. They don't know they are a new creation in Christ....

So many of us today are either oranges or navels...We are oranges who look nice with all our packaging, but open us up and examine us a little deeper, taste, smell...and our bitterness is exposed. Others, are navels, who don't remember we are free, we are new, we are saints, not sinners....SAINTS...grafted in by Christ...and we continue to identify ourselves as oranges....

People, lets get in the right basket with the navels...We are free! We are Saints, hemmed in, and a new creation, from the Light! We are sweet, we have been pruned and refined, or maybe we are going through the pruning process now....it hurts...but we will come out as a sweet navel....we will carry the aroma pleasing to the Lord.

See this You Tube link on Grafting, it’s wonderful when you think of how we are grafted to Christ! A wonderful lesson! Watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EwtyO16dFg

So there it is...are you an orange, or a navel? Think about it.