There was a movie some years ago that popularized a phrase that’s still used today. In the movie, a sports star was looking for a lucrative contract, but he felt like his agent, who was supposed to be representing him, was just giving him all talk and no action on getting him a contract. So, he tells the agent, “I’m going to fire you unless you Show Me the Money!”

In a way, each of us is an agent today — we represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Similar to the client in the movie, Jesus is also not satisfied when people who claim to represent Him are all talk and no action. Perhaps it would help motivate us to do our best if we thought of Him saying to us, “Show Me the Fruit!” Or, as He puts it in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit…Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:17, 20-21)

It’s easy to say all the right things to sound like a servant of God, but the Lord is expecting us to do the will of our Father in heaven. The talk is nice, but “Show me the fruit!”

When Jesus says to bring forth good fruit, he’s obviously not talking about apples and bananas. So, what type of fruit is expected to come forth from our lives? Any of these would qualify:

• Fruit of the Spirit: “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23)
• Service to Others: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17)
• Good Works: “Always abounding in good works” (Mosiah 5:15)
• Bringing Souls to Christ: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30)

Do we see some or all of these fruits coming forth in our lives? If not, we should take it as a warning sign that some adjustments may be necessary. Such adjustments are not to just start doing more of the things on the list above. That would be like gluing oranges to a dying tree and thinking we saved the tree because it now has fruit on it.

Rather, we need to make sure we are connected to the Lord — through prayer, scripture study, church attendance, and a pure love for Him. If we do these things, we will grow spiritually, and the tree that represents our lives will bring forth good fruit. On the other hand, if we put these spiritual activities aside, the tree will suffer “because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof” (Alma 32:39).

It’s not the amount of fruit that matters — Jesus says in a later parable that some will bring forth thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. What matters is that you see some amount of fruit in your life. That fruit is the evidence that you’re on the right path — the path that leads to salvation.

So, make sure you’re anchored to the Lord each and every day. Do your best to grow spiritually. Seek the Lord’s will for what He wants you to do in your life. And, look for the good fruit coming forth from your life as evidence that you’re where you need to be spiritually. Then, when Jesus says, “Show Me the Fruit!” you won’t be caught empty handed.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.