James 3:9-12 — That was unexpected.

READ THIS: James 3:9-12

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
 
WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

Have you ever taken a big swig of your glass fully expecting water, but mid-swallow you realize that it wasn't actually your cup and you were drinking someone else's Diet Dr. Pepper? It isn't a pleasant experience, partially because you're not a huge fan of diet soda, but more so because you were NOT expecting soda at all. 

When we go to a lake, we don't expect salt water. When we go to the ocean, we don't expect fresh water. And when we look at say an apple tree, we don't expect oranges. If we know the type of thing we're looking at, we know what it's supposed to produce/make. That goes for roles and positions, too. If we look at coaches, we know they're supposed to make training plans. If we look at parents, we know they're supposed to love their kids. Through experience, we know what is supposed to come from where, and it's confusing and disappointing when things don't happen they way they are supposed to. Like when an apple tree has no apples or, even worse, has something gross like cauliflower.  Or like when a parent is supposed to be loving and instead they're apathetic or mean. 


THINK ABOUT IT:

1.  What should come from a Christian? What fruits should we have?
 
2.  What do you think other people expect from Christians? Why?

 
TRY THIS:

Learn the fruits of the Spirit! (The things that we can produce through the Holy Spirit!):

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control! 
(Galatians 5:22-23)







Comments

  1. YoooonahJanuary 31, 2023 at 4:33 AM

    I think that people not of the faith tend to think of Christians as people who are too nice, or just being fake like the people in Matthew who were praying to be seen. I feel like they also see us as.. dare I say… cheesy which is why it’s important to show them why we are the way we are (say that 5 times fast)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2023 at 4:45 AM

      whywearethewaywearewhywearerhewaywearewhy…whhhyyyyy
      Haha I LOVE the connection to the story in Matthew cuz that’s SO true. I’ve had a few friends who don’t really believe in Jesus cuz they think people are just Christian for some popularity reason or power play

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2023 at 7:11 AM

    A trick to remembering the Fruit of the Spirit is that the first 3 are all one syllable words—Love, Joy, Peace.
    The second 3 are 2 syllables—Patience, Kindness, Goodness.
    The last 3 are 3 syllables—Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.

    Once we KNOW them, we need to SHOW them!!!

    ReplyDelete

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