Some bear only good fruit. With them I am energized and restored, my tank filled, my joy renewed. These are believers who have walked with Jesus for a lifetime. Others are in the middle: their impact may be sweet, but sour notes remain.
Finally, there are those who take you to dark places, though every word may be sweet and loving. Have you ever been around people who were nice but drained you completely? I have known several so bitter, so ruined inside, that a little time around them could throw a dark cloud over the universe. Even now there is one man I hope NOT to hear from…. He can suck the life out of me like no one else. His fruit is rotten.
“Beware of FALSE PROPHETS who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. [Maybe this is where the disciples looked at Jesus, their eyes asking, ‘how will we know?’ So He answered:] YOU WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUIT. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit” Matthew 7:16-17.
Practically speaking (enough metaphor), what is fruit and how do you evaluate it?
The fruit is the results of the man or woman’s life. What effect do they have on people? What impact do they have on those they love most? And those they love less? Co-workers and other associates?
When the ship of their life sails past, do good things wash ashore in the wake?
Will his or her life leave good things behind? Will friends have a lifetime of good things to discuss at the funeral?
And what about ourselves? How do we ensure our fruit is good? Jesus explains: “A good man produces out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart” Luke 6:45.
God, teach us to STORE GOOD THINGS in our hearts. Fill us with YOUR WORD.
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Household Words: 