Bring On The Good Fruit

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." Matthew 12:33-35

What does your fruit look like?

I could probably leave today's verses at that short question. What does your fruit look like? And not just your Sunday morning fruit- but your everyday fruit. What does your fruit look like when you are home alone, just you and the internet? What does your fruit look like when you are driving and someone cuts you off? What does your fruit look like when you have to wait in line for a really long time at the grocery store? What does your fruit look like when that person you really don't like much calls you up and asks for help? For those are the moments that define who we really are on the inside. It's so easy to show up for church Sunday morning and put on a happy face and be glad to see everyone. It's not so easy to do the same on a Thursday morning when you walk into work after a long week, or when you're waiting in line to drop off the kids at school.

The fact is, what goes in is what comes out. And if we're feeding ourselves reality television and adult websites, that's where our mind is going to be and what is going to come out. Getting along with people is really not just like the game of Survivor. You don't just decide that you don't like that one person and then vote them out of your group. Good fruit- the fruit that comes from God is the fruit that is filled with patience, love, understanding and compassion, and instead you will take the time to get to know that annoying person.

"For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." Wow, that is quite the statement! What do you do in a moment of crisis? What comes out of your mouth? Is it a cuss word? Or is it a quick prayer to heaven? A driver cuts you off, do you unconsciously call them a bad name? Just think about these things for a little while. You know what comes out, and only you can take the time to change what comes out. You can start by putting in some good stuff- fruit need fertilizer, and we can feed our fruit from the Bible each and every day. Maybe music inspires you, try picking up a new CD from a Christian artist or a praise CD if that would give you a much needed boost. And make a conscious effort to not call people names- even in your head. Make a conscious effort to try and eliminate those words from your vocabulary. Instead, try looking at those people through different eyes- through eyes of compassion. You don't know why they are the way they are, and Jesus would not walk around the grocery store glaring at all those who are in his way.

Let's try and be more conscious of the fruit we're bearing. Especially when we're in the private of our own home and our own minds. For what we do in private- God sees, he sees that ugly fruit and he so desires to prune it away for you, but you need to let him, and you need to put some good in to get good fruit. Good in equals good fruit. Bad in equals bad fruit. I certainly don't want to stand before God on the day of judgment with gleaming, gorgeous fruit hanging from my branches, only to have the fruit opened up to reveal rot and disease. I want what shows on the outside to be what is on the inside as well.