The fruit of repentance
The Fruit of Repentance
In Luke 3:1-20 John the Baptist has hit on a number of themes, which I blogged about the last couple of days. He talked about a course of life that is line with God’s will and blessing and a course of life that works against God and will receive His judgment and wrath. He called the people who were not on God’s path to do a u-turn, ask for forgiveness and head back to Him.
He also calls the “brood of vipers” to produce fruit that is in keeping with repentance and he goes on to give them instructions as to what this fruit will look like. The bottom line for John’s fruit is a life characterized by bold generosity. To not be greedy, not be discontent, not hoarding and not dishonest; but instead a life that is filled with generosity from beginning to end.
I will tell you that in my experience money and greed have always been a problem. For some reason we as humans find it exceptionally difficult to trust God with our finances. I recently heard that even the great 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon struggled with his finances. He was it seems often worried about the future and his financial situation. At one point one of his parishioners sold his house or some sort of property and gave the money to Spurgeon. But, Spurgeon discovered that he still worried about it.
Interesting stuff. . . It seems God wants us as His people to not put or trust in ourselves or our own finances but in Him alone. One of the key fruits of a repentant life is one that is not consumed with our own betterment or worries of our future. May God take our worries (as we repent and ask for forgiveness) and grant us hearts that trust His mighty name.
What a wonderfully reflective blog you have here. This post was beautifully written and laced with truth. As I study of the mistakes I’ve made in my life, the root causes to many of those mistakes are grounded in fear/lack of trust in God…in not truly believing God is who He says He is. Good stuff here.