Good Fruit

“Every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.” Matthew 7:17

These days there’s a lot of temptation to judge people and even wish they get thrown into the fire for all eternity. We know a lot of our taxes gets waylaid into deep pockets of bribery and corruption, extortion and kick backs. The pandemic has driven news of drug killings out of social media but when you listen to the radio, it is still as rampant as ever. We get horrified by men in uniform who act like hoodlums. It is tempting to conclude these evil men will end up in hell, but we should not issue final judgments. “Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged.” (Matthew 7:3) We can however judge a tree by its fruit: “by their fruits, you will know them.” 

The first “tree” we should examine is ourself. What kind of fruit is on our branches? In Galatians 5:22, we can find a checklist of the fruit we must bear: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When people get to know us, do they see these ‘fruits’ in us?

One time a supplier for our business found out I was a Christian, and he asked: “You were not a Christian last year when I came here, were you?” How painful for him to point out that I was unusually impatient that day! 

It is said that the Christian is the world’s Bible. We are ambassadors for Christ. We are His hands and feet here on earth. Lord, please enable us to exhibit the fruit of Your Holy Spirit.