The Fruit That We Are Known By

Training up a child has been a focal point for Pastor's Word for the Journey for the last several weeks. I cannot put into words the impact my father's life has had on myself and my brothers. The prayers we have woken up hearing in the middle of the night. The number of times I have seen him humble himself at an altar. Or how many times I have seen him make a bee-line for a lost soul in a crowded restaurant because he needed them to know they are loved and seen.

Matthew 7:20 says, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Children are much more perceptive than we adults would sometimes like to believe. They hear things we don't even remember saying. If there was a perfect mirror to show us our worst qualities, it would be a child's perception of us. One of my favorite memories of Layla a few years ago, she went up to the front to get prayed for by Pastor. She was so serious with little eyes closed and little hands raised. That was a beautiful picture of what she had been seeing of the adults in her life.

What is the fruit that your friends, family, and specifically your children know you by?