I have not eaten avocados much throughout my life, so I am not an avocado aficionado. My daughter, on the other hand, eats avocados all the time. Therefore, she is very knowledgeable about such things.
In my endeavors of preparing pureed food for AP #1 (“AP” – stands for “aging parent”) I had the brilliant idea of making chocolate avocado pudding. I had made it a time or two in the past and really liked it! Avocados are super nutritious, and the recipe also included a banana. So it would be a great way for AP #1 to get lots of nutrients. Plus, it would taste good … so she would probably eat it without resistance.
The only problem was … I didn’t know how to determine if an avocado was ripe or not.
The last time I had attempted to make chocolate avocado pudding the avocado had not been soft, but was firm. A firm crunchy avocado does not work at all when it comes to making soft smooth pudding.
Therefore, I asked my daughter the secret for determining when an avocado is ripe. She “taught me the ways” by explaining that when an avocado is ripe its color is a darker shade. But you can’t always count on that. The real test for determining if an avocado is ripe is to gently press the avocado … and if it gives ever-so-slightly then it is ripe and soft.
Armed with this newfound knowledge, I have since had great success making chocolate avocado pudding! And … AP #1 loves chocolate avocado pudding!
(As an aside, if you are interested, here is the recipe:
1 ripe avocado
1 ripe banana
2 Tbsp. coco powder
2 Tbsp. milk, or almond milk
2 Tbsp. maple syrup, or honey
¼ tsp. vanilla
Blend everything together in a food processor until smooth and creamy.
Alternately … If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a potato masher or a fork to mash the avocado & banana, and then stir everything together with a spoon until smooth.)
The lesson God showed me in all this is that as a follower of Jesus Christ, God wants us to be like a ripe avocado.
Nobody wants a hard, tasteless, crunchy avocado. It has no flavor at all. It makes for a tasteless, lumpy consistency which isn’t even “pudding” at that point.
Some Christians are like a hard crunchy avocado. When it comes to life, and to relating to other people, they come across as hard, tasteless, and crunchy (so to speak). They are so firm on what they believe that they don’t “blend well” when it comes to dialoging and discussing differences with others. They have no “flavor” (so to speak). Even though they know lots of Bible, all those “nutrients” can’t help anyone else, because nobody wants to eat a hard, tasteless, crunchy avocado.
Smooshy overripe avocados aren’t great either. They are way too soft! They are turning brown in the middle. Their flavor is no longer good. Some Christians are like a smooshy overripe avocado. They don’t want to offend anybody, so they are “smooshy” on all the things that really matter when it comes to faith in Jesus Christ.
The thing is, you can’t always tell if an avocado is ripe just by looking at it. You have to touch it. You have to gently press it. Does it “give” ever-so-slightly?
In the same way, you can’t tell if a Jesus-follower is spiritually “mature” just by outward appearances. Looks are deceiving. A lot of Christians appear to be “mature” followers of Jesus, when they are in fact not “ripe” at all.
The true test of “maturity” is when our lives intersect and “touch” each other.
When someone gets “pressed” gently, is there some “give” ever-so-slightly? Or … are they nothing but hard and firm? Or … are they so soft that they are smooshy?
Avocados are super-nutritious! But their nutrition can’t help anybody if they are hard! Nobody wants that. Neither can their nutrition help anybody if they are smooshy! Nobody wants that either.
In the same way, if we are a follower of Jesus Christ, we have a lot of life-giving hope to share with the world! We have Jesus to share with the world! But nobody will be interested if we are hard! Neither will our life-giving message of Jesus help if we are too smooshy.
We need to be soft … with an ever-so-slight “give.”
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” – 1 Peter 3:15
