Wednesday of Week 12 – Gen 12:1-2,17-18; Matthew 7:15-20

You will know them by their fruits Mt 7

Brothers and sisters, let me ask you: have you ever sowed a packet of seeds in the garden and then spent the next hour peering anxiously at the soil, tapping it with your finger as if the tiny green shoots might sprout on demand? Of course you haven’t – unless you enjoy watching dirt. Yet, in our spiritual lives, we behave exactly the same way. We plant a small act of kindness, whisper a prayer, give a donation – and then we pace the patio of our souls, expecting instant results.

Well, Abram did something very similar. He believed God’s promise of descendants and blessings, but he didn’t see the fruit right away. So God – the ultimate Gentleman – draws up a covenant: “I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” No ifs, no buts, no “we’ll see how many followers you get on social media.” God commits Himself to deliver.

And here’s where we, dear friends, learn our lesson. We long for confirmation. We want divine emails pinging our inbox: “Your prayers have been delivered,” “Your sacrifice has been validated,” “Yes, the toast you offered this morning was sufficiently golden.” Yet God asks us to trust – genuinely, deeply, even cheerfully – knowing that the harvest takes time. The seed of virtue is shy; it doesn’t burst into bloom at our command.

Jesus reminds us, “You will recognise them by their fruits.” Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve tasted some fruit that looked great on the shelf and turned out to be all pips and no pulp. We can’t settle for that in our spiritual lives. We must ask ourselves: is this decision rooted in authentic goodness, or is it merely dressed up to look the part, like Passionfruit with a chocolate glaze?

Real fruit ripens in its own time. It needs watering – through prayer; sunshine – through acts of charity; and the occasional pruning – through honest repentance. So, let’s be patient. Let’s trust the Covenant-Maker, who never breaks His word. And let’s be on the lookout for genuine signs of growth – tender shoots of compassion, sturdy branches of integrity, and the sweet, nourishing fruit of faith made visible to the world.

In short, dear friends, let’s stop squinting at the soil and start trusting the Sower. After all, if Abram could take a leap of faith without a single shoot in sight, we can certainly hold our ground until God’s promises come to full fruition. Amen – and may your patience bear bananas, or at least something more substantial than a pips-in-disguise!