Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. Matthew 12:33
My mother used to display a beautiful bowl of fake fruit on her kitchen table. It was amazing how far the plastic-fruit world had come in producing something that looked almost real with texture, shape, and color. Up to that point, all fake fruit and flowers looked false with hard plastic exteriors. But fake was starting to look real--oranges with dimples, apples with stems, bananas with brown lines, peaches with fuzz, and my favorite, clusters of green and purple grapes that were even squishy.
One day, when dad was well into the moderate stage of Alzheimer's disease, mom walked into the kitchen to find dad trying to eat one of the fake grapes. Needless to say, that's the day mom discarded her phony fruit.
There is an expression that states, "Fake it till you make it," but in the Christian realm, if we are faking it, we are not making it. The true life-giving kingdom is experienced through the real thing, Jesus Christ. When we pretend spiritual freedom, people will know; we will know, and most definitely, God will know. Yes, there are times we need to work on our attitudes of kindness, patience, humbleness, and love, but when we belong to Christ, His attributes should be what emanates from us. If we find we are faking it most of the time, we may need to reevaluate our Christ-relationship legitimacy. Nothing hurts a Christian witness more than one who is acting the part but not living the part.
Humbly coming to Christ with a contrite heart is the beginning point of bearing Godly fruit. God's nurturing process of His living water and fertilization is our growing relationship in Christ. He loves us and wants us to increase in Him. Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit. How is your fruit today? Is it time to be out with the bad and in with the good? We must be full of His Holy Spirit so that we make it, not fake it.
Fill me, Lord, with your beautiful Holy Spirit, and help me to bear good fruit. Amen.
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