Known by our fruit

From today's reading: "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit." Matthew 12:33 The tree is known by its fruit and so are we as individuals known by our fruits. What is it that we produce in the world? Are people able to tell from our actions or our talk what we believe? One of the greatests days of my life as a high school teacher was the day a student said to me, "You're a Christian aren't you, Mrs. Doerr? I can tell by the way you treat us." The two things that stand out the most about Christians are (should be) our respect for people, all people, not just those we are closest to... When we are sure that God loves us regardless of what we do or who we are, then we too, can be generous in loving others. The other thing is our understanding and sure knowledge that when our bodies die, it is not the end; that we will see our loved ones again. In the eyes of the world, these are the things that separate us the most - our attitude toward other people, and our attitude toward death. Out of those flow our respect for God's creation and hope for new life.