Today’s scripture: Matthew 7:15-20 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Keith Phillips):
When I told a friend that I was writing about this passage of scripture for Be Still and Know, his response was, “Well, you’ve got plenty of fruits there at LifeJourney Church!”
But what does Jesus mean when he talks about fruits? Especially in relationship with false prophets, who are actually wolves in sheep’s clothing?
We who were raised with the Bible in our hands immediately turn to Paul’s list of the fruit [please note, fruit is singular] of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). It’s a very nice list of virtues produced in the believer by the power of the Holy Spirit, but it’s not necessarily what Jesus was talking about.
First, who speaks for God? That’s what a prophet is: someone who has a word from the Lord, be it in a sermon, a book, or among a group of friends. A prophet is someone who proclaims God’s truth, God’s Good News of unconditional love for all persons.
Now, based on yesterday’s scripture passage, I think it’s safe to say that anyone who says that the Way of Jesus is easy or unnecessary is a false prophet, because “the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14). We’re getting toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, and this has been hard stuff. Jesus’ words about anger, lust, loving enemies, spiritual disciplines, wealth, and worry are not easy things to incorporate into our lives. And they’re not easy because they’re sometimes vague, even mystical and hard-to-understand; there’s a tension, quite unlike the Law. (For example, the same act of love in one situation would not be an act of love in another situation, which is what “tough love” is.) But might not these things be the fruits Jesus is speaking of?
So how might a prophet, one who speaks for God, produce such fruits as indicated in the Sermon on the Mount? Well, what’s the easy way? It’s the sure way, the black-and-white way, the way of the Law. You can know it, you can do it, you can follow it, and be done with it. No questions.
The hard and narrow way, on the other hand, is the uncertain way, the path of struggle and even of doubt, not being so sure; it’s the way of faith. No simple answers. Our God will not be put into a box. Our God has plenty of surprises for us. Our God turns our certainties upside down. Our God is a God of mystery and sometimes a God of silence. We follow in the Way of Jesus Christ by faith, not by sight. And anyone who tells you otherwise is a false prophet, and the fruits borne are invariably tainted and rotten.
Thought for the day: Thank you, O Lord, for the light to see my next step, and for the grace to trust you for everything else. May the fruits of that faith be pleasing to you and of benefit to those around me and all humanity. Amen.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.