:: in.a.mirror.dimly ::

I like how John says that when God has to choose between a tree that refuses to bear fruit and a rock, he’ll take the rock. He’ll make the rock work if the trees aren’t going to do anything.

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 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. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." Luke 3:7-9

I wonder if many people were going to be baptized just because it was the next religious fad. They already had their temple and Torah observance under control, and so they wanted to add one more thing: baptism for repentance.

However, John cut right to the heart of the matter. Their identity with Abraham and religious observance didn’t replace the need to be faithful and obedient in their day to day lives. Repentance is shown through action, not ceremony.

John knew that some of his would-be followers were no better than a rock. They showed up by the river for a variety of reasons, but not necessarily to change their lives and to produce the fruit, the actions, that showed they had reoriented their lives around the heart of God. 

Perilous though their situation may be, the good news is that these people are trees made to produce fruit. And so even with this dire warning, they are still in a better place than a rock. They are trees ready to produce fruit with God.

Repentance takes place through action, a new kind of lifestyle.