I discovered a precarious situation in my medicine cabinet this morning.

There were two roll-on bottles in there. One was a bottle of antiperspirant, and the other a bottle of Bio Freeze, a treatment for muscle pain and arthritis that feels very hot on the skin. I recognized the uncomfortable potential just as I was about to set my armpits on fire with the Bio Freeze.

Crisis averted. My near-miss is a good reminder of how looks can be deceiving. Things might not always be what they appear.

I have a friend who lives in a home where I used to live. While I lived there, I planted an apple tree in the front yard.

My friend called me shortly after moving in and asked, “Why aren’t there any pears on this pear tree?” I said, “Because it isn’t a pear tree. It’s an apple tree.”

It took me a while to convince him, in the absence of any fruit on the tree, that it was indeed an apple tree. He could call it a pear tree all he wanted, but that didn’t make the apple tree a pear tree.

When we profess to be Christians, we have the Spirit of God in us which produces fruit in our lives. The Bible describes the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

If we are in Christ, this is the fruit that we should be bearing.

The absence of fruit, however, might leave one wondering, “What kind of tree is this?” Does simply calling oneself a Christian make it so?

I think the evidence is borne out in the fruit. Is he patient? Is he kind? Does she demonstrate self-control? Is there a crop of kindness coming from the orchard?

Was my friend expecting too much by wanting to see some fruit on the tree in his front yard? Absolutely not. That is why I planted the tree in the first place – to get some fruit.

Is it expecting too much to see the fruit of the Spirit in the life of a Christian?

Absolutely not.

Joel Gay is Pastor of Wilmington Church of the Nazarene.