Partake of the Fruit of God

1  Nephi 8:9-33. 

This passage of scripture depicts the vision of the tree of life that Lehi and then later his son Nephi see. Two words, however, came out very strong for me this time reading around. They were the words "partake" and "taste." 

When Nephi first takes a bite of the fruit he partakes of it. (vs. 11-12) He describe the feelings that he has and the way that he eats it. Partaking of something implies a much greater appetite. It means being a part of something. There was a much greater connection there. 

 Compare that, then, to the people in verse 28: "and after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them, and they fell away and were lost." Those people merely TASTED of the love of God. They didn't dwell on it like Nephi did. It was as if they licked the fruit, kind of got a sense of what it was like, then got embarrassed and left.

Again, in verse 33 the people who partook were mocked and ridiculed but they "heeded them not." They were too busy being a part of the love of God. They kept partaking and partaking. Compare that to the people who were lost that only ate the fruit once then fell away.

We need to be like the people of Nephi. Embrace the love of God and continually eat it. Don't listen to the ways of the world and just keep eating and eating. It can't just be a one time conversion either, like those who tasted. It's a constant process of partaking. I invite all who read my blog (all 2 of you) to join with me in partaking of the fruit of God and living this Gospel to it's fullest.