“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
Luke 6:43-44 (ESV)
This passage reminds me of a question I have heard asked a few times: “If you were on trial because you are a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” (original source unknown). While this is a rhetorical question, it is one that is well worth asking yourself. What does your life say about your relationship with Jesus?
Jesus here tells us that we are known by our fruit. What are we producing? Grapes and figs? Or thorns and brambles? Obviously, as people, we do not literally produce either grapes or thorns. But they do illustrate good fruit and bad fruit.
A grapevine does not consciously choose to produce grapes rather than thorns. It just naturally does. In the same way, a thorn bush will, by nature, produce thorns.
While you may not be able to recognize a grapevine by its leaves, you can quickly identify it by the clusters of grapes it produces. If you see a tree with apples, you know it is an apple tree. The fruit produced is the easiest way for most of us to identify a plant or tree.
But Jesus’ concern here was not about being able to identify trees or bushes. He was talking about people. What fruit do we produce? Do our lives reflect the fruit of the Holy Spirit working within us? Or are we no different than the world around us?
And if we are no different, it is worth asking ourselves if we indeed have the life of Christ within us, producing his fruit. Or are we just pretending and still producing thorns? Is there enough evidence to convict?
