Edition 67
Known By
Last Edition Recap
How have you applied the last edition to your life?
Opening Prayer
Gracious Lord, I am alive today for Your purpose; teach me Your plan and how to live it fully. Amen
Introduction
Why don’t apples grow on grapevines? The answer is obvious – each tree produces fruit according to its nature. A grapevine produces grapes, an apple tree produces apples. You know the tree by its fruit.
As a minister, I’ve officiated at countless funerals, and I’m always struck by what emerges in those final tributes. The words spoken – or the silence that hangs heavy – reveal the truth about how someone lived. Three distinct categories emerge time and again.
First, there’s the Full-life Person. The chapel overflows with people eager to share stories of positive influence. Tales of kindness, generosity, and faith pour forth naturally. These individuals are remembered for how they lifted others, how they loved deeply, how they served faithfully. They’ll be sorely missed because they made life better for everyone around them.
Then there’s the Mediocre-life Person. Some nice things are said, but with noticeable effort. Others remain silent. They lived, certainly, but without much impact. They consumed rather than contributed, existed rather than engaged. They might be missed by some, but life continues much as before.
Finally, there’s the Wasted-life Person. Here, the struggle is palpable. People search desperately for something positive to say. The deceased is remembered primarily for the shrapnel of unpleasant memories left behind – broken relationships, harsh words, selfish choices. The relief in the room is barely concealed. They probably won’t be missed.
What strikes me most is that at every funeral, regardless of category, people always discuss the deceased’s relationship with Jesus. Some joyously express the faith that sustained the departed. Others dig deep, hoping to find some thread of connection to Christ. Either way, everyone’s relationship with Jesus becomes the focal point.
Chat Point 1
How would you describe the difference between existing and truly living?
What do you think determines which category someone falls into at their funeral?
How does the fruit of someone’s life reveal the condition of their heart?
What prevents people from changing categories whilst they still have time?
How might knowing you’re still alive for a purpose transform your daily choices?
Read
Luke 6:43-49
Key Focus
Luke 6:45 – “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
Chat Point 2
What stood out for you about the connection between our hearts and the fruit of our lives?
How does Jesus’ teaching about foundations relate to how we’ll be remembered?
What areas of your life currently reflect obedience to Jesus’ teachings, and how does this affect you?
Where are you resisting God’s instructions, and what might be the cost of this resistance?
How does knowing God has kept you alive for a reason influence your perspective on change?
Final Thought
The profound truth that emerged from years of conducting funerals is this: it’s never too late to change. It’s only too late when you’re dead.
Luke 6:45 reveals why those three categories exist. What flows from our lives – our words, actions, influence – springs from what’s stored in our hearts. The Full-life Person stored goodness, love, faith. The heart overflowed with Christ’s presence, producing fruit that blessed others. The Mediocre-life Person stored a mixture – some good, mostly indifference. Their lukewarm heart produced forgettable fruit. The Wasted-life Person stored bitterness, selfishness, anger. Their corrupted heart could only produce corrupted fruit.
Jesus makes it devastatingly clear: we’re known by our fruit because our fruit reveals our hearts. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. The question isn’t whether people will talk about your relationship with Jesus at your funeral – they will. The question is what they’ll have to say.
Here’s the remarkable grace: if you’re reading this, you’re still breathing. God has kept you alive for a reason. His grace remains available to transform your heart, change your fruit, rewrite your legacy. The Wasted-life Person can become Full-life. The Mediocre can catch fire with purpose. But this transformation requires honest recognition of which category you’re currently in and genuine surrender to the One who can change hearts.
Consider Jesus Himself – undeniably a Full-life Person. His funeral lasted three days, then He rose to prove that a life lived in complete obedience to the Father produces fruit that death itself cannot destroy. He shows us the way: store up good in your heart through relationship with Him, and good will overflow from your life.
Your funeral will come. People will gather. Words will be spoken or struggled for. But today, right now, you can decide what kind of tree you’ll be, what fruit you’ll bear, how you’ll be known. The choice – and the grace to make it – is yours.
My Action
What key insight or learning from this session resonates most with me, and what do I sense God is inviting me to do in response?
Shared Prayer
What are your prayer requests?
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, we all want to be remembered as living full lives; strengthen our relationship with You and remove our fear of living fully in You. Amen.
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In-Between Chats: Personal Reflection
How can you begin storing more of God’s goodness in your heart this week to change the fruit you’re producing?
What specific steps will you take to move from your current category toward being a Full-life Person?
What would need to change today for people to easily speak of your faith and positive influence at your funeral?
Edition Writer: Rev Kevin Zondagh
Methodist Minister, Personal Development Specialist, Life Coach, Relationship Coach and Executive Coach. Founder and Owner of Exemplar Coaching Pty Ltd and CoffeeChatConnect. "We should have the desire to custom design the only life we have. After-all, we buy designer everything. How much more should we Live by Design, not by default?"