Working to be Christ, inside out

This morning I read from John 15. Here Jesus speaks to His disciples telling them that He is the true vine and we are branches that shoot off from Him. Our Lord's challenge is for us to bear fruit. He mentions several times how we must bear fruit or we will be cut off from Him.

Vs. 8 spoke clearly to me this morning. "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

What a sobering thing to consider as Christians. How many times then do I look from the outside to be Christ's disciple?

In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus is recorded to have said,

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" (NIV).
 

 I highlighted a very important piece of what Christ has told us. "Each tree is recognized by its own fruit." Wow! So what about me? What do people see when they interact with me? How will they regard Christ, whom I say I follow, when they consider my actions and my words?

...What about you? Are you the outward representation of Jesus Christ?

The world is our greatest judge. People call things as they see them and we as Christians are the most scrutinized people on the face of the earth. Why? Because the world hated Christ, even though He was good. (John 15:18-21) The world will hate us depending on what we do--truthfully they will hate us if we reflect the truth of Christ--not on what we say we believe.

Does the world love me, or hate me? What do I want the world to think of me when they see me? Do I want them to know right away that I'm a Christian, which only really means that I am an imitator of Christ? How will they know that I'm an imitator of Christ?

Mahatma Gandhi put it once very well,

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
 

 But here's something else to consider from the words of Christ. He said, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart." That must mean that our outer behaviour reflects the inner change of our hearts once we allow Christ in.

That I guess begs the question, "Have I let Christ in?" Can I be transformed without Christ?

I am like the Apostle Paul. I consider myself a wretched man without Christ (Romans 7:23-25).

I continually need to ask the Lord to change my heart so it becomes like His. The good that will be stored up in my heart will then bear fruit that is acceptable to God. This is such a thing to look forward to.

Psalm 51: 10,

"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within
me."