Judge Them By Their Fruit
How Do You Respond When The Chips Are Down?
When I first heard this phrase, I thought it meant that you would be able to tell if someone has the favor of God by looking at their life. If they had a “good” life, they were blessed. And if their life wasn’t “good,” they were likely living outside of the will of God. Maybe not by their own doing, but it was a consequence of their sinful actions or that of their parents. I didn’t necessarily believe this, but that’s what I thought it meant to be able to judge someone by their fruit.
The phrase comes from this passage in the Bible: Matthew 7:16-20 NIV
“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.”
What I think it means now is that you’ll be able to see who someone really is when the chips are down. I think it means that as Christians, we are supposed to have the Fruit of the Spirit. When we are squeezed with the pressures of life… the Fruit of the Spirit should pour out. When life is hard and things don’t go our way, we should be loving, gentle, kind, and patient. We should handle disappointments with grace and self-control. We should have peace because we know God’s got us. We should have joy because God is good. We should be good because deep down to our core… is Jesus Christ.
We are a reflection of Christ, and how we respond in the face of adversity matters. How we treat people matters.
The fruit isn’t for me to have nice things. It isn’t for me to live an easy life. The fruit isn’t for me. It’s for you. So, judge me by my fruit. I hope on my worst day, you still see Jesus. I hope that I can be a blessing to you in some way.
P.S.
I hope you found this post to be helpful in your walk with Christ!
Please feel free to comment below and share your own personal notes! I truly believe the Lord uses scripture to speak to each of us in different ways, so I would love to engage with my readers and learn more about your perspective. My goal is to create an engaging community where we feel comfortable sharing our thoughts and growing together in fellowship.
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I agree, often the best tin people comes out in the toughest of times.