faith unfaded

How many times have we heard that? Worse yet, how many times have we said it ourselves?

A sin. A stronghold. Something you convince yourself God will let slide, as if He operated on a point system.

We serve an A+ God. An A- might look good on paper, but God isn’t interested in surface-level success—He’s after full surrender.

“But God knows me.”

“Me and God have this deal.”

“God made me this way.”

I’ve heard it all. I’ve SAID it all.

They are all lies from the depths of hell.

God made us in His image. (Genesis 1:26)

In Him is light, and no darkness at all. (John 1:5)

Therefore, we have no basis to believe He would ever allow one area of sin to remain in our lives.

Picture a bowl of fruit. A beautiful bowl of delicious fruit waiting for others to enjoy. But then something seems a little off. Maybe fruit flies start buzzing around. Perhaps an acrid smell begins to waft from within. But fruit looks fine, and still tastes good.

Upon further investigation, you find one piece at the bottom… rotting. It’s been in there—undetected—for so long that the pieces around it are now showing signs of decay.

Left alone, the entire bowl will rot—the disease spreading until every piece of fruit is affected. One tucked-away, tainted tangerine has ruined the entire bowl.

You are known by your fruit. (Matthew 7:20)

While some may only see the fruit on top, God sees the whole batch. He sees the worms. He sees the decay.

He also knows which fruit is merely decor.

I encountered this just last weekend at an Airbnb. A bowl of apples sat on the kitchen counter—the most beautiful apples I’d ever seen. I could not resist grabbing one.

It was then that I realized they were fake. That polyurethane coating that had enticed me succeeded in looking good, but had no real substance.

Be careful who you get your spiritual nutrition from.

It’s easy to focus on what’s visible—the parts of our lives that look good, feel good, and even seem fruitful.

But I’ve learned the hard way that what we ignore doesn’t stay hidden. It spreads quietly, affecting things we never intended to touch.

God doesn’t expose things to shame us—He reveals them so He can heal them.

Maybe today isn’t about fixing the whole bowl. Maybe it’s just about being honest enough to deal with what’s underneath.