⁸ “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”

Reputation is important to God, that is, His reputation. Being created in His image, our main goal in life is to glorify God. We agree with the first point of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”

The word “glory” comes from the Hebrew concept of “weightiness.” The root derivation comes from describing columns holding up a building. They are substantial, weighty. In time, glory came to describe individuals who were weighty in character. To glorify someone came to mean enhancing others’ appreciation of a person’s character in some way, thus the idea of enhancing his reputation.

Today, God’s reputation has taken a bad rap. Not due to anything God has done, but because of misrepresentations about God and scandalous behavior of those who claim to be representatives of Christ. Not only have well known preachers brought disgrace to His name, but on an individual level we can also easily misrepresent God by our behavior in the workplace, community, neighborhoods and families.

As Christians, Christ-followers, we represent Him as ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20); and our main goal is to help others see what God is really like. To put it another way, we have the opportunity to add to God’s reputation! And not just by our words, although people do need to hear the Word of God in order to be saved: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). But our role also includes presenting God in a way that accurately reflects what He is like. Particularly in our fruit bearing.

In other words, God’s reputation is enhanced when we bear fruit that proves we are disciples of Christ. Jesus reiterates the principle He had already told them, “Each tree is known by its fruit…” (Luke 6:44, see also Matt 7:20). The reality of our faith is proven genuine by our outward behavior, what people can see. Just a few minutes earlier in the Upper Room, Jesus had said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). So the first and primary area of demonstrating genuine faith is in how we behave in love toward other Christians. There are many other addendums to proving our faith, but if faith cannot be worked out with those closest to us, then how can it be worked out towards “our enemies.” Tooting the gospel horn is nothing more than noise if there is lack of love among Christians.

Lord, convict me of any attitudes I may have toward my fellow believers.