Do People Know What Kind of Tree you Are?

(Read Luke 6)

One of the biggest compliments I’ve received in my life is when a work friend told me he knew I was a Christian. I had never mentioned my faith. Even many years ago, you just didn’t talk religion in the workplace. We were chatting about Christmas and he said that the Holiday didn’t have a lot of deep meaning to him. “But,” he said, “I know it’s a profound time of the year for you.”

“What gives that away,” I asked. He proceeded to explain that he’d always known that I was a Christian and serious about my faith.

“A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit; on the other hand, a bad tree doesn’t produce good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs aren’t gathered from thornbushes, or grapes picked from a bramble bush.

A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”
Luke 6:43-45

Many Christians believe that Biblical warnings are for the “other guy.” Jesus was talking about the thieves, murderers, rapists, and terrorists, they think. In truth, Jesus was really talking to all of us. He was pointing to the hypocrisy of religious people who think that their sins aren’t as bad as other people’s sins. He was pointing at the showy rule followers whose hearts don’t bear any fruit at all.

Believers were called to God before time began. Then, he stood by and watched our sins, our hate, and our hardened hearts stain our lives. How could he sit back and watch? Because God knows the good we’re capable of. He knows the spiritual fruit we will grow for him.

I spoke with a long time friend recently about the good fruit he produces in his life. We have known each other for a long, long time. For much of that time, we were more like thornbushes and brambles as opposed to figs and grapevines. On the surface, there wasn’t a lot of spiritual fruit to witness in my friend’s early life and yet, God saw the breadcrumbs of a future. My friend has told me that, “God peels back glimpses of truth in layers, like an onion. With each layer,” he added, “we see more of the picture.”

There was no Damascus-like moment in my friend’s awareness of his walk with Jesus. His hardened heart was chipped away bit by bit. Despite a sinful youth replete with drug use, inebriation, pornography, and loose living, he always felt a pull towards God. As a young boy, he would find solace and comfort in church. He read the Bible often. Over time, God called him closer. His premarital counseling and frequent talks with his father-in-law showed glimpses of the good fruit Jesus was waiting for. Many times, he heard himself saying “my kids will be raised Christian.” In retrospect, my friend wasn’t sure why he felt so strongly about this, but he knew it would not be a variable, it was given.

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
Hebrews 9:14

The more my friend learned about his faith, the more he thought he needed to sacrifice for his sins. He sinned a lot, so that sacrifice must be huge. Guilt was pushing him to believe in a redemption he would never be able to satisfy. Until one day when God pointed him to Hebrews 9. Nothing can make us clean, can make us right with God apart from Jesus on the cross. My friend eventually came to learn that it wasn’t up to him to kill a lamb to sacrifice for his past. The unblemished lamb had already been sacrificed. First, God redeemed his heart, then he saw the light, truth, and the way.

I asked him how his life changed. “My life has gotten harder since becoming a believer because I now think twice about my sins,” he said. “I don’t want to dishonor God with anything I do.” Life as a willing sinner was easier for him because he didn’t think about the wrongs he was doing — he just did it. “The power of sin is easy, until you try to resist it,” he continued. “While my life might be harder now, it’s much more enjoyable.”

Do people know you’re a Christian? “I doubt it,” my friend answered. “It’s one area of my life, I’m struggling with. I don’t do enough to demonstrate it,” he replied. About two decades ago, my friend and I were invited to a weekend of bachelor activities for a mutual buddy getting married. For the most part, it was a blast. The last night of the bachelor weekend, we opted out of some traditional bachelor party antics that neither of us felt comfortable with. We didn’t say no to send a message or to be examples of purity. We believed that participating would dishonor God and our wives. Two days after the weekend festivities, I received a call from our friend who was getting married. He said that it was uncomfortable and ugly. He wished it didn’t happen. He said that we made the right choice in abstaining from that event. As it turns out, our decision sent a message. Our decision produced good fruit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23

My friend admits that he is still short-tempered or “grumpy” at times. He said that he’s not the patient, peaceful, joyful man he should be. But he’s working on it.

Life as a Christian in our corrupt world is a constant struggle. The temptation of sin is relentless and deceptive. Every day we are faced with choices between good and evil. We are saved by grace through faith. But do we demonstrate this faith?

“He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.”
Luke 6:48-49

So my friend doesn’t believe that he outwardly displays himself as a Christian. He serves as an Elder in his church, leads multiple small group Bible studies, spends up to an hour a day in quiet time with God, leads a Christian household with two Baptized children, was instrumental in cementing my relationship with Jesus Christ, and served as an example of moral judgement at an inopportune time. Whether he knows it or not, he does produce good fruit for Jesus Christ. He is a living, breathing testimony to the salvation that Christ graced him with.

“I know You’re able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone
I know the sorrow, I know the hurt
Would all go away if You’d just say the word
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone”
Mercy Me

Key Applications:

1. Do you exhibit spiritual fruits in your life? Are your faith and goodness apparent to people who don’t know you? Be aware of your sudden actions, your sudden reactions. Be patient, loving, and kind. Be like the faith you believe in.
2. Have you had pivotal moments in your life where you’ve had to choose between moral rights and wrongs? If you’re like most people, you face these every day. How do you approach these crossroads? We all sin and fall short. Don’t despair. When facing these challenging times, pray, recite scripture, or a positive song. Rely on the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life, not a world view of right and wrong.
3. Is your life built on sand or a rock? I love the beach. It’s probably my favorite place to be, but I don’t want to build my life on it. As Moses discovered, shifting sands will uncover serious sins. A house (life) built on sand will not last. Using God and God’s word as your rock, place your life on something permanent, something eternal. Be aware of rock versus stone in your choices.

Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.