you will know them by their fruit

Matthew 7:15-20
“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? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

bearingfruit1

♥♥♥

For as long I can remember I’ve believed in God.
In His son, Jesus.
In Christianity.

It was all in my head, and somewhat in my heart…
But if you looked at my life, you wouldn’t have seen His light shining or His works performing.
You wouldn’t have known Him by my fruit.

But lately, He’s been nudging me.
And I’ve suddenly become very uncomfortable in being comfortable.
I look around at my life, at my tasks and my concerns, and I see an awful lot of me.
And not nearly enough of Him.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is in the Gospel of John, when John the Baptist says:
“He must become greater, I must become less.” John 3:30

When I read that again in my quiet time the other morning, it suddenly struck me in a whole new way, and I recalled the verses above from Matthew.

“You will know them by their fruits…”

All these stirrings in my heart over the last few months have so much to do with these verses.
I am suddenly looking at things, events, relationships, and my life so differently.
As though it’s now somewhat through His eyes, and no longer mine …as much.

All the things I wanted for me, for my glory, to bring attention to me, seem so meaningless now.
And I realize, it’s not about us just believing.

It’s not about simply going to Him to find our happiness and comfort.
It’s not about gaining success and popularity…
Believe it or not, it’s actually…
Not even about us!

Instead, it’s about making much to do of Him.
And by allowing Him to become greater in our lives, there will absolutely be fruit to be seen.

We will no longer be content in comfort, and in that discomfort He is be able to do abundantly more through us, than we could ever have done on our own.

We are called to action.
Just as he called his disciples to “Follow Me,” He is also calling us.
To get up and go…

Are you ready to get uncomfortable for Him?

Reflection & Journaling:

There are things we do that seem so defining and so incredibly important to our lives, that we spend more time on them than most anything else.

Perhaps it’s your work.
Or training and competing in a certain sport.
Or maybe it’s even your ministry…
Whatever it may be, let me ask you this:

What if all the work you did, all the benefits and glory that came from your efforts, instead went to someone else and your name was never to be known?

Would you still do it with just as much passion and just as much intensity if you never once got the credit?

Would it even still be important?

Prayer:

I encourage you to be vulnerable and pray honestly to the Lord exactly what you are feeling and all that you are struggling with.
He already knows.
He simply longs to hear you and comfort you.

Ask Him to take from your life all that isn’t of Him, and to instead replace it with only what will bear the most beautiful and life giving fruit.
Fall to your knees, lay it all down before Him, and be still.

He knows.
He comforts.
He answers.

 

SHARE THIS POSTShare on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestGoogle+Email to someone
It means so much that you are here! I know life gets busy though, so if you don't want to miss a thing, I invite you to subscribe to my blog through email!

Comments

  1. Gahh! This Spoke Right To My HearT. Thank You 🙂

  2. Kristina Kavanaugh says:

    Loving this!