Fruit Snack Theology
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Matthew 7:16-18
Scripture tells us to measure Christian theology and Christian practice by the fruit they bear. Galatians 5 tell us the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The message of this chapter of Galatians is that the person who lives a life guided by the Spirit will possess a life marked by this good fruit.
This verse comes immediately after a warning about the acts of the flesh, which are generally self focused, self gratifying, and destructive. The contrast is obvious. A self-focused life produces destruction. A life in the Spirit produces thoughts, behaviors, and actions that build up, feed, improve, and make things better.
Agricultural metaphors are found throughout Scripture; references to vines, trees, and fruit are common in the New Testament. Good fruit obviously represents nourishment, health, and growth. Rotten fruit, on the other hand, represents destruction, decay, and even death.
But not everything is clearly good or rotten fruit.
A lot of what gets passed off as theology today isn’t really fruit at all. It looks like fruit, it’s shaped like fruit, it even tastes a little bit like fruit, but it’s actually just fruit snacks.
Fruit snack theology isn’t going hurt you like rotten fruit will.
It’s sweet.
It tastes good.
It’s fine in small amounts.
It even has some added vitamins.
But it’s not actually nutritious, and you can’t live on it.
If you eat nothing but fruit snacks, it won’t take long to start feeling unwell. And your teeth will be in rough shape, too!
A parent, teacher, or pastor also shouldn’t serve only fruit snacks to their children, students, or congregations. After a quick sugar rush, there’s nothing there to sustain anyone.
In this series of posts I will address some of the fruit snack theology I’ve heard recently.
What fruit snack theology have you heard?
What would you like me to address?
Click here and send me a message with the subject Fruit Snacks.
Fruit Snacks Theology Pt. 1: Everything Happens for a Reason