Where Christians Get It Wrong
Where Christians Get It Wrong
One year, my wife Amy really wanted to plant fruit trees in our yard. She asked me, “Sweetheart, could we plant some fruit trees?”
Now, what do you think I said? Do you think I told her, “That’s a silly idea! We can’t even keep ferns alive—how could we possibly manage an orchard?” Of course not!
Why? Because I love being married, and I’m not that foolish. I love Amy deeply, and one of my greatest goals in life is to bless her whenever I can. She’s my best friend and my wife of 33 years. So, when she wanted fruit trees, we planted four.
Three of them died.
Yes, we lost three trees, leaving just one peach tree. Let me show you a picture—does it look good? Well, it’s winter, so it doesn’t look too bad. But here’s the problem—it looks the same in the middle of summer, too! It’s struggling.
And over the years, that tree has only produced three peaches. But when I say “peaches,” I really mean tiny, rock-hard golf balls that even squirrels won’t eat. Let me show you—see that little thing? We had to circle it just so you could spot it.
That tree was the best we got after all our effort. In fact, we probably spent more money on those four trees than we would have on a lifetime supply of peaches from the grocery store.
This got me thinking—how often do we see people who call themselves Christians but bear no real fruit in their lives?
The Difference Between “Christian” and “Christian-ish”
This brings us to our message series: Christian-ish.
What does it mean to be “Christian-ish”? It means having a half-hearted faith—calling ourselves followers of Jesus but not truly living it out.
Many people identify as Christians. Maybe you do, too. You might believe in God. You might even go to church. But just like our peach tree, there are many people who claim to follow Christ yet bear no real fruit in their lives.
And it’s not just about lacking good fruit—like love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness. Some who claim to follow Jesus actually display the opposite—rudeness, selfishness, arrogance, judgmental attitudes, or even hypocrisy.
There are people who profess faith in Christ, but when you get close, all you see are leaves—no fruit.
Now, I won’t get too personal, but let me ask: Do you know someone who calls themselves a Christian, but their life doesn’t reflect it? If so, raise your hand. Don’t point at them—we’ll pray for them, not call them out!
Now, if it were later in the message, I might ask you a tougher question: Have you ever been that person? Have you ever claimed Jesus but failed to show His fruit in your life? But we’ll save that for later.
True Disciples Bear Fruit
God’s Word is clear—if we are true disciples of Jesus, we will bear spiritual fruit.
In John 15:5, Jesus says:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.”
And in John 15:8, He continues:
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
In other words, our faithfulness to Jesus is revealed in the fruit we bear.
Jesus also makes this clear in Matthew 7:16-17:
“You will recognize them by their fruit. Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”
So, let’s ask ourselves: Are we truly bearing fruit for Christ? Or are we just trees with leaves—alive in name only?
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