What fruit can be seen in our lives?

When John came on the scene he caused quite a stir. He was very much in the image of the prophets of old, dressing differently, eating differently, and declaring a message designed to call people back to serving God. The result? Large crowds of people came out to see and hear for themselves.

“Then John said to the crowds who came to be baptised by him, ‘You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones. The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire.’” (Luke 3:7-9 CEB)

What a message! Notice that John didn’t pull any punches. Who would dream of beginning their lesson by calling their audience “children of snakes” – not very flattering and definitely, we would think, not a way to win friends and influence people. Yet he got their attention.

Judgment was coming and they needed to be ready. They couldn’t fall back on their tried and true answer: “Abraham is our father”, as if being a descendant of Abraham made them right with God. But how many today would have a similar excuse to get our of their own commitment? “My parents are Christians” is one that I’ve heard, as well as “I live in a Christian nation” or even “I go to church on Sunday” – as if these statements said anything about their life and commitment to Jesus. There must be more than this and that was exactly what John was telling the crowds that came to hear him almost two thousand years ago. Yes, he got the attention of the people but how did this translate into their daily lives?

“The crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ He answered, ‘Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same.’ Even tax collectors came to be baptised. They said to him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He replied, ‘Collect no more than you are authorised to collect.’ Soldiers asked, ‘What about us? What should we do?’ He answered, ‘Don’t cheat or harass anyone, and be satisfied with your pay.’” (Luke 3:10-14)

What was John telling them? It was quite a simple message: if you have really changed your heart then it should be seen in your lives, in what you do and don’t do. Specifically he told them to share what they had with those who didn’t have, don’t cheat or harass people, and be satisfied with what pay they received. That was not only a radical message for the first century but it is still a radical message today.

Following God should impact every area of your life. Are we willing to share what we have with those who have a need, or do we view what we have as mine and mine alone? Can our being a Christian be seen when we are at work? Do we realise that the same qualities that we show on Sunday need to be seen at all times in our lives, even when we are in our work place? Honesty and gentleness seem to be in short supply in our world today but should always be part of our lives as Christians.

What can people see in our lives? What fruit is our life producing? We need to be producing the Spirit’s fruit at all times and in all situations.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the self with its passions and its desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-25)

Photo by Jon Galloway, Netherburn, Scotland.

Readings for next week: Luke 2-6