Another Fruit Analogy

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

- Psalm 1

I was reading this psalm the other day and, you guessed it, I had another fruit epiphany! Verse 3's footnote in my ESV Study Bible (love that thing) made the point that a tree doesn't bear fruit for itself, but for others.

"So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit."

- Matthew 7:17-18

Jesus explains in Matthew 7 that just as you can recognize a tree by its fruit, so can you distinguish false prophets from their works. Christians, this is the same for us! People will know who our source of nourishment is by the fruit we bear. What are these good fruits? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)! If there are good fruits, there must be bad, rotten fruit. These are the works of the flesh:

"sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these."

- Galatians 5:19b-21a

Okay. So there's a difference between the fruit of a Christian and that of a non-believer (because everyone bears some sort of fruit - it's either sweet and colorful or bitter and worm-filled). So what?

Do we understand the effect our deeds have on others?

It is tempting to think that if you...

- tell a "white lie"

- sin when "no one is watching" (watching pornography, being gluttonous, etc.)

- sin because "everyone else is doing it"

Then your actions won't have an affect on your witness or others around you. How false! What a blatant lie from the enemy!

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

- Matthew 5:14-16

Oh. So if by seeing our good works, others can give glory to God, what does our sin do?

This picture makes me so happy I <3 peaches

Let us bring it back to the fruit tree. Say you (Christian) are a peach tree. You regularly attend church and have a Bible verse in your Instagram bio so your tree is very pretty on the outside. The peaches are bright orange and pink. Lately, though, you've been getting absolutely plastered (drunkenness) on the weekends with a group of close friends. You can trust them not to tell anyone! You're young, you're just having fun. Harmless, right?

Until you send a risky text to the girl/guy you've had fantasies about (sexual immorality). What if this person is a non-believer and looked up to you as a follower of Christ? What if they were planning on asking you for a ride to church the next Sunday? Your witness to them is now severely damaged and you are tempting them to sin. Your fruit is rotten and bitter on the inside.

Until one of your friends records and posts a video on Snapchat of you idiotically rapping a song objectifying women (sensuality). What about the person you had been praying for to come to faith? Who struggles with drunkenness? And they see you doing the very thing you encouraged them to abstain from? Your witness is now severely damaged and you are tempting them to sin. Your fruit is rotten and bitter on the inside.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Our sin does not only affect us. As Americans, we are heavily individualized and don't even recognize it. Our selfish human nature combined with the overemphasis of "your personal walk with the Lord" can be detrimental. We are called to make disciples. We cannot do so if we are bearing bad fruit.

When we are abundant in the fruits of the Spirit, God is glorified.

"The light is ours, but the glorification is for our Father in heaven. We shine because we have light, and we are seen because we shine. By good works we best shine before men. True shining is silent, but yet it is so useful, that men, who are too often very bad judges, are yet forced to bless God for the good which they receive through the light which he has kindled. Angels glorify God whom they see; and men are forced to glorify God whom they do not see, when they mark the “good works ” of his saints."

- (Charles Spurgeon, The King Has Come; emphasis mine)

Christians, I admonish you to bear fruit that is pleasing to God. Fruit that is just as sweet on the inside as it is beautiful on the outside. Others will be nourished, encouraged, brightened by the fruits of the Spirit abundant in you.

Your sister in Christ,

Jadyn