I was reading in Matthew 12 this morning and I ran across Matt 12:33-35. The context is that Jesus had cast out a demon and the pharisees had accused Christ of doing this with the power of Satan. Christ logically pointed out the fallacy of this argument as Satan would not cast out demons.
Christ then proceeds to talk about trees and fruit. ....what???
Trust me, it fits. His whole point is that you know what kind of tree a tree is based on the fruit you see. You see apples and you know it's an apple tree. You see plums, olives, or walnuts....same truth: you know what kind of tree you have.
I wanted to pull in many conversations I've had over the years about "witnessing" to people. I remember in college specifically hearing a lot of young guys talk about how they wished they would tell more people about Christ, they wished they were more bold, and they would pray for opportunities to tell people about God and Jesus Christ.
I've even thought these same thoughts in recent years. However, I've had two thoughts come to mind since. One is perfectly expressed in this passage. We are known by our Fruit. So, why did I capitalize the word "Fruit" there? Exactly. The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. If we have all 9 of these traits as a part of our life then the people who come into contact with us will KNOW something is up.
Secondly, is the truth that everything that is important to us gets talked about. If I find an exercise program that works really well for me, I'm going to talk about it. If we have a parenting question, every single parent who thinks they have an answer is going to let us know what it is. We talk about what we believe is true and what is really important to us. Why then are we so timid in talking about Christ? It makes no sense. Nothing has changed my (or your) life more than Jesus Christ has. So, it stands to reason that an outflowing of that is that we talk about Him. Not awkwardly, but naturally. Since he has done everything good for us, then when we are congratulated or praised, we can say praise God because in that moment....we are praising God! It just flows.
Two key elements of "witnessing" are both just life. A result of the Spirit in our life and a response to a life changed by God.
To God be the glory.
Christ then proceeds to talk about trees and fruit. ....what???
Trust me, it fits. His whole point is that you know what kind of tree a tree is based on the fruit you see. You see apples and you know it's an apple tree. You see plums, olives, or walnuts....same truth: you know what kind of tree you have.
I wanted to pull in many conversations I've had over the years about "witnessing" to people. I remember in college specifically hearing a lot of young guys talk about how they wished they would tell more people about Christ, they wished they were more bold, and they would pray for opportunities to tell people about God and Jesus Christ.
I've even thought these same thoughts in recent years. However, I've had two thoughts come to mind since. One is perfectly expressed in this passage. We are known by our Fruit. So, why did I capitalize the word "Fruit" there? Exactly. The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. If we have all 9 of these traits as a part of our life then the people who come into contact with us will KNOW something is up.
Secondly, is the truth that everything that is important to us gets talked about. If I find an exercise program that works really well for me, I'm going to talk about it. If we have a parenting question, every single parent who thinks they have an answer is going to let us know what it is. We talk about what we believe is true and what is really important to us. Why then are we so timid in talking about Christ? It makes no sense. Nothing has changed my (or your) life more than Jesus Christ has. So, it stands to reason that an outflowing of that is that we talk about Him. Not awkwardly, but naturally. Since he has done everything good for us, then when we are congratulated or praised, we can say praise God because in that moment....we are praising God! It just flows.
Two key elements of "witnessing" are both just life. A result of the Spirit in our life and a response to a life changed by God.
To God be the glory.
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