Matthew 7: 15-20
Jesus
said to his disciples:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”
It would be easy to look into the world today and see
false prophets, those who use religion as a profession to make themselves rich.
I do not believe these are the ones this passage speaks of. Although they
spread the Gospel they do not do so with malicious intent. Ravenous wolves
never mean to do good.
This passage is speaking more about the ones you don’t
expect. This passage speaks about all those who say you have to be part of
their particular denomination if you wish to be saved. Those who say, “Join my
club or burn in hell.” These are the ravenous wolves that spew untruth and
demand others to believe. They are the ones who lead God’s people away from
him.
Every good true bears good fruit. It doesn’t have to be
the same fruit as the tree I eat from for it to be good. I am a pear guy but
apples, oranges, and figs are all good too. Others may not like pears but love
apples. As long as their fruit is good they come from a good tree. This is how
we must see our brothers in other denominations. You don’t have to be Catholic
to bear good fruit.
This passage is also a warning to me. I am called to be a
holy man who leads God’s people closer to him. I do not do this for myself or
for self gain. I do this solely for love of the Lord. When this becomes about
me I will have become one of the wolves, a tree that bears bad fruit, ready to
be cut down and placed in the fire.
Lord my God, send your Holy Spirit down upon me to
inspire and guide me to always be a good and holy man who leads your people
closer to you.
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