By their fruit

“Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:20)

 

The “by their fruit you will recognize them” says a very ordinary principle of nature. All results are done according to the cause, like the word “As you sow, so shall you reap.” That means “the beans sprout at the place planted the beans, and the red beans sprout at the place planted red beans.” While nature is simple, human is too complex to an extent that regularity cannot be applied. But Jesus taught man to keep the principle of nature, pointing out what’s at the heart of the matter. Lies has occupied the human life always from the first. As near the time to the world’s end goes more by, sinful injustice grows and becomes more common. But we should have a firm attitude of resolute response against injustice, for knowing that’s never a new phenomenon.

 

False prophets were not only at Jesus’ time, but also they are still doing the act of obstructing the truth in these days. People are wary of false prophets, and sometimes excited against their problems. So they curse false prophets directly or indirectly, or offer any active measures to prevent them. That way, some think, it might be seen possible to control falsehood, but rather than seeing actual effects the bad situation is widely spreading more and more.

Only by the appearance of individual, church, group, agency, nation, and etc, it can’t be told if it’s real or fake. For the false prophets appear in sheep’s clothing, and the tombs with corrupt bodies and bones are also decorated with flowers and marble. It is said that this is the age of display for making a big show of oneself. These days, the appearance of everything, whether it’s a person or an item, is regarded important. Anyway appearance is the first priority, and the contents is the second. Because the evaluator’s eyes is so, it’s inevitable. But the problem within inner will be confirmed in the result. At first it had been seen as if sheep, but the wolf of plunder appeared later. It was planted a seed of a grape vine, but that was a bad seed which couldn’t bear fruit. It is our reality that we live without correcting our wrong ideas, though knowing for sure that the consequences are so bad.

Why do people just repeat the same life without change? There would be nobody who doesn’t want to produce good results. But people can’t always have the life of good fruit. Looking back on the past, we can see that there hasn’t been a fundamental change in the way we look. We know well that the answer is too simple. That answer is, it is because the tree isn’t originally good. Unless the trees in the orchard are good, we have to dig them out and replant them as new ones. Just like that, if the servants of Christ do not bear beautiful fruit, they should change themselves instead of just spending wasting time.

Believing in Jesus is because on the purpose to enter the kingdom of God. To enter the kingdom of God, we must practice according to God the Father’s wishes. There is a common mistake that many people make. We heard not few of evangelists’ shout like this on the road, “Jesus is the Heaven! Believe in Jesus, and you will have the heavenly kingdom!” Some of them seem to think to be able to receive the Heaven ticket, just by chanting with their lips. Or some may expect the Heaven to be given by thinking only in their heads. I think their nonsense is something strange. The Heaven never comes like that. If you want to enter the Heaven now, you have to strive to know God’s will. You have to practice it according to God’s word rather than express it with your head or lips.

Think deep about what the Lord will say on the day of judgment to come to everybody. The Lord of judgement will not tolerate the sinful deeds or let the sinners go. When the death has come to the door someday, what should you do in order not to speak a stupidity of “Oh, my God!” or “What shall I do?” Do your best a moment when you have a chance anytime. As written in Matthew 7:22, “Lord, Lord! Did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name did we not drive out demons, and in your name did we not perform many miracles?” many will say to me on that day. But unfortunately they will hear from the Lord that “I never knew you.”

 

They were the ones who had done illegal things. What a lamentable thing it is, oh, poor people! They devoted their lives to hard work, but they were turned away by the Lord in the end. What’s more, there was not for them even a new chance to try again. It’s not a matter of others but a problem of ourselves just now. Thus the present is your chance to be prepared. It doesn’t matter what you do with Jesus’ name, but above all, we need the faith in Jesus who knows what it means and does it.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on July 5th 2020)