Christ-Like Fruit

February 2, 2017

Christ-Like Fruit

Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit,

so you can identify people by their actions.

Matthew 7:20

Jesus’ second warning concerns church leaders. (Matthew 7:15-23) However, the standard which Jesus applied to judging church leaders is a standard we can apply to all leaders, secular and church alike.

Jesus alerts us that the task of evaluating our leaders can be difficult because often they are disguised in sheep’s clothing; often they speak and act in ways that seem authentically committed to building for God’s Kingdom. But what may be missing from their life is a commitment “to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead” (Philippians 3:10). Over and over again the writers of the New Testament make clear God’s goal to form Christ within us. As our lives are transformed to become like Christ, our lives will produce the fruit of Kingdom life. Most notable among Kingdom fruit is the fruit of the self-sacrificial life: “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Luke 22:42).

Jesus includes this teaching in the Sermon on the Mount because it is the responsibility of every one of his disciples to hold our leaders, both within the church and within our societies to a Godly standard of leadership. However, before we start launching an assault on our political leaders, let us remember what we learned in the meditation, Jesus, On Self-Righteousness (January 27, 2017), and before we jump into the fray, first do a gut-check: how is it with our soul? Next, let us first hold our church leaders accountable for their submission to Christ and the fruit of their lives before we take aim at other leaders.

Do you see? Being a disciple is hard work; it takes time, wisdom, and our own inner-development. Hence, Jesus said the road is hard and the gate narrow.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.