Known by My Fruit

 By: Grace Metzger

Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Matthew 7:20

Lately I've been thinking a lot about this specific verse. To give some context over why this has been on my mind, I have to give you a little bit of a backstory. I am currently training about six new people at my job, a few months ago everyone quit at once, so every person there is brand new. While training, I found myself pointing out the regular customers who would come in and telling them about those customers; things like "That girl is so sweet," or "This couple are the cutest couple I know." But more often then not I found myself saying things like, "Watch out for this man, he's a jerk," or the most common thing I found myself saying "I really dislike this person." 

I didn't think that this was a bad thing, I saw it as a good way to quickly let the new people be aware of who they were dealing with. At first, it was for good reasons like, "I dislike this guy, he always yell at you if you take too long." But quickly it just turned into a way for me to complain. I realized that in those moment I didn't look like a Christian. Instead, I saw a hateful, rude person.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

I looked at my actions and compared them to the fruit of the Spirit. Was I showing love in those moment when I spoke about how much I disliked those people? Was I showing kindness or goodness when I was complaining and whining constantly? Was I showing patience or self-control when I was getting frustrated over every small thing? I quickly realized that the answer to all those questions was a big fat no. I wasn't showing one single fruit of the Spirit in those moments.

You might ask, "What's the big deal? It was just one small moment in your day." However these small moments show what's truly in your heart a lot more than you think. In Matthew 7:18 it says, "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit." This is telling us that these small moments matter so much more then you think.

I am the only believer at my job currently, because of this I have a responsibility to show them what God's love can do to someone. I want them to see me and instantly recognize that I am a believer. I want them to talk to me and hear love and kindness flowing through every word. I have the responsibility to show them God's love.

You have that responsibility too, whether it's in your job, at your home, in your school, whenever it might be. You are responsible for showing everyone God's incredible love. Are you being a good example of God's love? Can they tell by your actions that you are a believer? I truly think that this is something we need to examine every single day. Before you make a decision, say a word, get into an argument think, "Am I being an example of God right now? Will this show them my fruit?" 

Discussion Question:
Which fruit do you struggle with the most?