truth is... {fruit}

truth is…

some days when I’m walking from point A to point B and just casually conversing with my Creator, in my head I blurt out questions whose answers catch me by surprise.

this, by far, has been the most bizarre winter I’ve ever experienced in almost 20 years of existence. it was December and I was still walking back to my dorm in flip flops in the rain. (granted, the flip flops MAY not have been a necessarily wise choice.) as I walked, marveling at this anomaly they were calling December, I thought, “God, how on earth can you call this winter if there isn’t any snow??” and you know, immediately I felt like Job when God rebuked him and asked him who it was that darkened his counsel without knowledge. the Lord seemed to come back with a biting response.

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?”

I’ve been SLOWLY progressing through Luke this year, eating it up bit by bit and taking the time to work through some of the things you wrestle with when you’re examining the life of Christ. (it’s a little daunting, actually.) so, that was Luke 6:46, but back it up with me a bit. Dr. Luke here is recounting for us the Sermon on the Mount, and you’d be a fool to ignore what went on before this. you don’t walk into church right when the pastor is making his conclusion on the matter, so what on earth would possess you to do that now? (I’ll tell you what it is, and often, it’s pure laziness.) I’m not going to exegete the whole thing here, but I think it is important to acknowledge where Christ starts in pronouncing blessing and woes—he’s really speaking to bless the ears of those who already believe and catch those who don’t off guard. then he continues on for the believers in the crowd, reminding them of how they ought to be conducting themselves in light of their position.

verses 43-45 are where we’re really going to start digging. these verses set the very foundation upon which verse 46 is laid. Christ tells them what they ought to be doing and then calls them to examine their own lives.  looking at these verses, in common day vernacular, Christ could have said, “let’s just be real here: that apple tree over there isn’t just going to sprout poisonous berries out of nowhere, and that thistle isn’t about to pop out a healthy little mango. now let’s transfer that principle. people can pretend, but on a consistent basis, a person who actually loves me and is my child is not going to blatantly disobey the things I ask of them, and a person who is not my child and doesn’t love me is not going to consistently obey the things I ask of my children. what you say and do only shows to the world what your heart really believes.”

and on that foundation, he rebukes them. again, in layman’s terms, “why do you keep telling people you belong to me, but don’t act like it?? you’re telling us you’re an orange tree and producing crab apples.” I can imagine he may have been a little frustrated by this point. I would have been. I do this to God all the time. I say I belong to God, but I lose control of my tongue. I say I’m a child of the King, but I idolize the things of this world. my words and my actions do NOT line up, especially as of late, they have not. for all of the times I’ve said that I trust the Lord, and that he knows what’s best, I still find myself acting like I don’t and he doesn’t. it’s this strange form of Christian atheism that we kindly term “worry”.

why do I call Him my Lord, and fail to simply obey him and trust his judgment? the simple answer: because I’m a faulty human being. but the real question: why does he continue to extend his grace to me for the journey even when I disobey and scoff his ultimate wisdom? there is no simple answer. because he is God, and he is loving. he does all that he pleases. and for this, I am thankful.