Fruit Impressions

Wednesday, April 19

Fruit Impressions
By: Pastor Shane Beauvais 

One Sunday after church, a little girl approached her father and asked, “Daddy, what is a Christian?”

“Well,” her father said, “Christians are those who practice and follow the Way of a Jesus Christ and know Him as Savior. They love God with their whole heart and their neighbor as themselves. They are kind and humble and will apologize should disagreements arise. In a world that seeks revenge, Christians show grace and mercy. Most importantly, their actions mirror their words.”

Perplexed by her father’s description, she asked….”Daddy, have we ever seen a Christian?”
This short story is fictional. However, it raises a great question. 
Do our actions prove our authenticity? It is easy to look authentic at first glance. However, the fruit will always reveal the truth when examined more closely.

In the unsettling story of Jesus cursing the fig tree narrated in the Gospels (Matthew 21:18–22; Mark 11:12–14, 20–25), Jesus addresses this discrepancy. This inverted miracle illustrates the stakes of failing to bear the fruit one would expect from a tree of its kind.
 
Somewhere on the road between Bethany and Jerusalem, Jesus approached this fig tree hoping to satisfy his hunger (v. 18). Somewhere in our context, there are people in our community, in your Oikos, in your workplace, who examine more closely the fruit that you should bear. 
Do your “fruit” impressions match your actions? Do we live what we preach? Do we practice what we desperately want the next generation to live out? It is easy to look authentic at first glance. However, the fruit will always reveal the truth when examined more closely.

Jesus, may we always bear the fruit that YOU would expect from a tree of this kind.