Mt 7: 15-20
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Bearing Good Fruit
Jesus assures us that we can know who we can walk with and trust by the fruit they bear with their lives. By the same token, we are known by the fruit we bear with our lives. But what does it mean to bear good fruit? By my estimation it means that we return the unconditional love that God has for us by loving him back and by loving our brothers and sisters with our lives. It means being kind when we are tired and do not feel like it, for example, excusing the mistakes of grocery store clerks because we have compassion for how hard their job is. It means doing more than empathizing with the oppressed and marginalized by devoting time, money, talent, and other resources to their cause. Bearing good fruit means always striving to do better. In what ways can you do better to bear good fruit?
—Terresa Ford is a recent graduate of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University and holds an M.Div. She is a resident Spiritual Health Worker at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, and a Spiritual Direction resident at the Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center.
Prayer
Righteous God, we come to you in reverence and thanksgiving for all that you are and all that you do. We ask with humility and gratitude that you open our eyes to the ways we can honor you with our lives, love you more deeply, and serve our brothers and sisters more compassionately.
For this we pray in your sacred name for the glory of the Father. Amen.
—Terresa Ford