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Apples, Bananas, and Tomatoes?
January 6th, 2026
Matthew 12:30-37.
For a long time, I refused to eat tomatoes. This baffled my dad because I loved ketchup. What dad was unaware of was that I once went to our refrigerator to get an apple for a snack but, being very young, I grabbed a tomato instead of an apple. Biting into one type of fruit (yes, tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable) when you’re expecting a completely different kind of fruit can be alarming. I wouldn’t willingly eat a tomato again for a decade and a half.
What kind of fruit is your life producing? In today’s text, Jesus tells us that a tree is recognized by its fruit (v. 33). On a farm, I wouldn’t have had any trouble telling the difference between an apple and a tomato. In the same way, others don’t have any problem telling where our allegiance lies by what kind of fruit our lives are producing.
In the early days of this new year, perhaps we should pause for a moment and reflect on where our true allegiance lies and whether or not we are producing good fruit.
Author: Joe Foltz
