REALExemplo

We Can't Help It

By Jan Greenwood

I can’t pick a tasty watermelon for the life of me. I’ve failed so many times, it has become a family joke. No matter how many times I stand at the bin, tap on the watermelons, or try to select the perfect one, it most often fails to meet my expectations.

Did you know that watermelons will actually “witness” to you if you pay attention? In desperation one day, I found an article that told me how to look at the stem and markings on the outside of the melon to discern the ripeness inside. It seems that even a watermelon can’t help but testify to its experience! It’s not only true of watermelons; it’s also true of people.

In Matthew 7:16 Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits.” The context around this often-quoted passage cautions us about false prophets. We can lean upon this principle to help us discern the authenticity and validity of another’s witness. If we look and listen carefully, we will be able to read and discern the stem and markings of their life. We can see if their fruit is ripe or rotten.

At salvation, the Holy Spirit makes us witnesses. This exchange roots you into the family of God like a stem in soil and begins to mark your life with new identity. It changes who you are. It is neither optional nor mandatory; rather, it is inevitable. Then our ongoing walk with Christ produces fruit that validates the authenticity of our salvation. Our testimony begins to speak and produce salvation in others.

In Acts 4, Peter and John find themselves in a lot of trouble because they’ve been witnessing to anyone who would listen. Their encounter with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 filled them with a bold urgency to share what they had seen and heard. Their testimony stirred thousands of people to receive Christ and brought healing to others. This alarmed the local leaders, and soon they were arrested and brought before them to give an account. When told to stop witnessing, Peter responded with a profound revelation: “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

So the next time you are strolling the produce aisle of your local grocery store, remember that your fruit—your testimony—cannot help but speak. If you’re full of the Holy Spirit, it’s going to show, so why not go ahead and speak boldly about Him? Allow your testimony to be examined. Show the “stem” and “markings” that reveal the inner sweetness of your life so that others might turn to Christ and experience an encounter of their own.

Prayer

Father, I thank You that You have revealed Your son to me and that I bear fruit that speaks to others of Your goodness. I pray You would make me a faithful witness with an abundant testimony of Your saving power. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Memory Verse

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8