The Tree and Its Fruit
Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. -Matthew 7:15-20 (New Living Translation)
In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus calls us to be fruit inspectors. I have always heard that Christians are fruit inspectors. But only recently my curiosity got the best of me, so I googled "fruit inspectors." The result of that search yielded articles about the duties of a perishable fruit inspector. Who knew that such a job existed? I read about all the tasks and functions and found that a perishable fruit inspectors primary job is to ensure that only the absolute best fruit is delivered to the customer. This person is both a safety and a quality control inspector, ensuring the safe handling and transportation of the precious cargo. They check that temperature, humidity, and ventilation is right for safe traveling so the fruit can ripen properly. Guaranteeing the customer receives the highest quality of the fruit.
Becoming a fruit inspector can help us do a couple of things. First, it can help us to see if peoples' words match their actions. It can help us to see false teachers, and it can help us to see people that we should not date, court, marry, or be in partnership with. It can ensure that we are not unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14).
Secondly, being a fruit inspector can help us to look at ourselves and ask some questions:
Galatians 5:22 tells us what good quality fruit looks like, "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!"
Does this look like the kind of fruit you are producing? If not, just like a fruit inspector would do, check your fruit. What questions did you answer "yes" to? Which ones did you answer "no" to? What are you going to do today to produce good fruit?
