Friday, March 27, 2009
Judged by Our Fruit
(Jeremiah 17:1-10)
Judah was on the very cusp of God’s judgment. Much of Jeremiah’s prophecy focuses on national sins that would ultimately bring about the Babylonian captivity. God, Jeremiah argues, looks beyond outward result to judge motives and matters of the heart. His judgment of man’s actions is both searching and just.
Men have a way of justifying even the most blatantly wrong actions. Take, for example, Mr. Obama. He is an avowed baby killer—a pro-abortion politician who has even voted for killing viable children born to botched abortions. Yet, he justifies his stance by stating that he would not want his daughter to one day be “punished” by an unwanted child. His is twisted thinking that comes from a wicked, desperately deceitful heart. But his reasoning sounds “good” to many Americans.
The Lord goes beyond what “sounds good” to address the very heart of the matter. He alone can search the heart and judge our motivations. His judgment is always perfectly just, because it is based upon perfect knowledge of man—knowledge that goes beyond what we know of ourselves.
Having weighed the evidence, the Lord rewards man “according to the fruit of his doings.” The fruit we bear in life is not the final product. The Lord will judge our fruit and will reward accordingly. Whether for good or for ill, our lives all produce fruit. Let’s be careful that our fruit redounds to the praise and glory of God!
