Bearing the Fruit of Repentance

“Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”  - Matthew 3:8 

In Matthew 3, John the Baptist rebukes the religious elite (Pharisees and Sadducees) for not demonstrating evidence of repentant hearts and good fruit in their lives. The definition of repentance is “the sincere acknowledgment of wrongdoing, coupled with a genuine resolve to change.”

In scripture, we see that repentance from our sins leads to reconciliation with God. Ultimately, this will be evidenced by producing good fruit, including the greatest commandment of loving the Lord our God with all our hearts and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:36-40), and the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). Fruit is seldom produced without careful cultivation. Likewise, in our own spiritual lives, we can't expect to produce fruit without being rooted in good soil and remaining attached to the True Vine. (John 15).

Earlier this week, I sat at the breakfast table, drinking my coffee and looking out over my prepared garden bed. I had spent months amending the soil with more loam, manure and a variety of compost. But I realized something important - this spot didn’t get enough sunlight for sun-loving plants.

I had a difficult choice to make: continue on with my perfect soil and shadier spot, or turn from my initial plan in order to produce better fruit (and vegetables). I chose the latter. It meant more work breaking new ground, getting some new material and moving dirt around, but in the end, I believe it’ll be worth turning from the path I was on. 

What other ways do we fail to repent in our spiritual lives and miss out on producing the best fruit? “Lord, help me consider how you may be leading me to turn from what’s comfortable to grow fruit in keeping with repentance. Amen.”