By Their Fruit You'll Know

My apple tree has produced fruit this year! I have about two dozen apples growing. I planted the tree two years ago when I moved to this new house and landscaped the yard. Now nobody will need to ask the question, "What type of tree is that?" They will automatically know by its fruit.

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing,

but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.

Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?"

Matthew 7:16

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

Galatians 5:22

If you are in the process of choosing a pastor, a spouse, a close friend, or a business partner, but you are uneasy and undecided, look at the fruit that their lives produce. The fruit of a godly person is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Of course, we all know that no one is perfect, but if you are seeing an abundance of other kinds of fruit like criticism, insensitivity, selfishness, greed, unloyalty, control, pride, prejudice, and anger, beware. You will not go wrong in making a decision if you look at their fruit, for an ungodly person will produce ungodly fruit and the godly person will produce godly fruit.

Not too long ago, my sons and I were visiting a local church in the area. While the Pastor was preaching his sermon, a young child started to cry. My focus was immediately on the Pastor to see if he was going to react in a negative way. He didn't. In fact, he showed no irritation at all to the interruption and continued to be speak in a relaxed tone of voice. He never even looked in the direction the noise was coming from, so as to not embarrass the mother. This occurred twice in the sermon, and the Pastor responded the same way both times. I don't remember much about the sermon that was preached that day, but I do remember the lesson he taught through his actions. It is not what we say, look like, or the position we hold, but how we act that reveal the content of our heart. The Bible says we will know people by their fruit. When you need to make an important decision such as whether or not you should trust someone, pray to God for revelation of that person's fruits.