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By their fruits you will recognize them. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.

 

I had a friend once who insisted she was not judging other people. She said she was “fruit-inspecting.” Semantics? Maybe. (I might be judging her if I said otherwise.)

 

While I don’t think it’s a good idea to go around examining everyone else’s actions without considering our own, it is true that we can frequently see from how someone acts what is going on inside.

 

There’s another passage in James that says something similar.

 

Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brothers, ought not to be so. Does the spring, out of the same opening, gush forth the sweet and the bitter? Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives? Or a vine, figs? Neither can salt water produce sweet. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good manner of life his works in meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which descends from above, but is earthly, soulish, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there disorder and every worthless practice are. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, forbearing, compliant, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:10-18

 

What is expressed from our lives, all the time, when someone is looking or not, at church, at work, or at home is the fruit of what is being nurtured inside of us. What kind of fruit do people see when they look at your life?

 

Lord God Almighty, please help me nurture Your life in me for healthy fruit from my life. Amen.

 

Paula Barney

adminassist@livinglord.org

 

Prayer Concern: That we would represent God well.