07/17/2024
This morning while reading my daily devotional message written by Pastor E.M. Bounds I encountered a phrase I had heard several times before, but one that never ceases to cause me to pause and reflect on my Christian walk. We read the Bible online, and in paper or hardback form, but the very first Bible any unbeliever reads is covered in flesh… our flesh. We are the first introduction that sinners have to God’s Word.
"Christians are the bible that sinners read." – E. M. Bounds
It is one thing to be able to quote scripture, to understand biblical history, and to teach classes like a professor, but what is ultimately important is that we convert our understanding of God’s Word into faith and then act upon that faith in our daily lives. Jesus referred to this application of faith as "bearing fruit."
“So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
Matthew 7:17-20 ESV
When I hear that sinners might never read the bible, but will certainly see and hear the Word of God in my actions it becomes far more important that I bear good fruit. The life or death of another's soul hangs in the balance and a sinner's encounter with me might be the pivotal event that determines whether they accept the Lord or walk away. How many souls have been lost because a Christian was having a bad day, or wasn't putting their faith into action?
You might think that this is an over dramatization of the message, but that isn't true, and you are probably justifying your lack of action rather than facing it as a problem.
Years ago, when I began putting my faith to action, things started occurring in my life; things that I didn't fully understand. People would come into my office at work, begin telling me of personal problems they were having and asking me to pray with them. One day I was having my car inspected at the local inspection station and the attendant kept looking at me before finally coming to my window and asking "are you some kind of preacher or something?" And then later she confided that she had seen me in a dream. There was no sign on my door at work that read "Intercessory Prayer" or a sticker on my car window that touted "Pastor on Board." Yet there might as well have been.
Sinners see God in us, they smell the sweet aroma of the fruit we bear as surely as a hungry man at a fruit stand, but if upon closer inspection they find that our fruit is rotting, or not what they thought it was, they will walk away disappointed and might not ever return. Jesus was talking about how we might recognize false prophets when He said: “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”, but His message was equally true of those who are righteous and bear good fruit.
So how do we begin to bear good fruit? How do we convert our understanding of the Word into faith? We do it through prayer. E.M. Bounds speaks of this in the following quote:
"Prayer may seem insignificant in the eyes of the world, but it is important in all of God's movements and in all of His plans. He looks for holy people, those noted for their praying habits. As a child of God, bear fruit in such a way that the world may see to whom you belong." – E. M. Bounds
Prayer is God's catalyst that takes knowledge of Him and mixes it with an infant faith before converting it into our maturing faith in action... Fruit. The funny thing about a catalyst is that after it has caused the change to occur... It remains unchanged itself; are we ready to be used again and again... Over and over? Well perhaps that is a thought for another day.
But, once our fruit has ripened, we need to put it to use. As a child there was a pear tree in our back yard. That tree produced incredibly sweet pears but sometimes you would smell that sweetness only to find that what we were actually smelling were the pears that had fallen to ground, and were rotting there. The good fruit of that tree would not return for another season. We had waited too long to harvest.
Today let's ask God to hear our prayers for good fruit. Let's ask Him to bless us and make our godly bounty more than just a sweet aroma, but the beautiful fruit of our faith in Him; one that looks, feels, and tastes desirable. Then, let's ask Him for the wisdom and knowledge we need to recognize when it is time to harvest.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the many gifts you bestow upon us, but thank you most for allowing us to share our righteous fruit with the starving souls of the world. Thank you Lord for writing your Holy Word on our hearts, and for making us a living representation of your Word… wrapped in flesh. Help us Father as we take our faith to the corners of the earth, and as we reveal it to those who wait longingly there to hear and see it. Give us strength Lord so that our actions will show all those about us what a transformed body and life looks like when Jesus take up residence there, and your Word becomes its sustenance. Holy, Holy, Holy are the words we pray to you as we walk this fallen world, knowing that holiness is your desire for us, so that all the lost here will be drawn to us, reborn in Christ, and adopted by you. Praised be your name Father as our actions glorify you, and bring life to the dead and dying in sin. Make us righteous Abba, and display us to the world so that all who see us will want to be as we are… your children of hope, peace, and joy. Let them see the confidence we have in Jesus, and in spending eternity in Heaven with you, and dining forevermore with you. Let them hear your voice Lord as they turn the pages of our flesh wrapped Bible, and believe. Open their ears and let them hear you say “This is my child in whom I am well pleased!” and want to be known by you in that way too. Call us worthy Holy Father, and let us be recast in the righteous image of your Son Jesus before the world.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
Rich Forbes