December 17, 2018

Luke 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

I don’t go out the clubs, but I do watch movies where people go out to exclusive clubs where you must know someone to get in. There is always a big bouncer at the door and usually a line the bouncer is keeping at bay. In the movies, someone is able to jump the line and go straight in because of a personal connection. Then the music gets too loud and I have to turn the volume so low that I never figure out why they went to the club. But the point is, as the old saying goes, it is not what you know but who you know. In the passage above John the Baptist is warning the crowds that have come out to hear him that it is not who you know but the fruit you produce- that is what grow out of you from the inside. They were not to think they were special because of their heritage but actually turn their live around (that is the meaning of repent) so that their actions would speak of their hearts. Maybe they thought that getting baptized by John would put them in a special category, make them part of the in group. John says their lives would tell the tale about what kind of person they really were. What do you rely on to get you into the club, make you one of the special people? Advent is a time humble ourselves as God became humble in the form of a baby. This week, consider how you might do that.