The neighbors at the end of our block have three little girls and two dogs. They moved into a home where the previous owners planted four fruit trees outside the fence next to the sidewalk. The apple and pear have died, but the peach and cherry are still there.
As I walked past those trees recently, I noticed that the cherries are ripe. I wondered if the owners would pick them, and then I spotted the entire family with buckets in hand. The little girls and mom were having a great time picking cherries and filling their buckets while Dad and the dogs watched. I was glad that the fruit would not go to waste.
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew, Jesus reminds his listeners that “by their fruit you will recognize [prophets].” Then Jesus uttered a stark warning, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” [7:20-21]
Frankly, people who walk into a church and say “Lord, Lord” and walk out to live their lives as they please are much too common. They profess Christ as LORD with their mouths but rarely obey His word. It doesn’t cost anything to be a “professing” Christian.
It costs everything, however, to be a “true” Christian who not only says, “Lord, Lord” but also “does the will of the Father in heaven.” We do a great disservice to people by allowing them to think that Christianity can be acquired by mere words. In truth, it is a life totally given over to pleasing God. It costs everything.
