My mom used to keep a bowl of artificial fruit on the center of our table. The fruit never lost its color, aged, or spoiled. That fruit required minimal care to keep it looking fresh and real. It looked nice because it wasn’t real.

It’s tempting to display our faith like a bowl of artificial fruit. A person can learn how to make their faith look more perfect than it really is. We can feel better about our faith if we don’t show anyone the flaws that exist in our lives.

Genuine faith has imperfections, but such faith is able to feed others. Paul said the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). Knowing whether or not our faith is real isn’t difficult. Real faith produces real fruit. 

When we live our lives to please God, we cannot please him with artificial faith and expect reward. The author of Proverbs 21:3 said, “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” God isn’t pleased simply because the presentation of our faith to others looks right. God knows our hearts.

We still make the same mistakes as God’s children have made throughout time. The Jewish people had begun to make sacrifices at the temple out of a sense of duty rather than a sense of true repentance. Christians today still visit a priest or say a prayer and think the words earn forgiveness rather than the fact that we have genuine repentance in our hearts.

God rewards an honest faith with all of its flaws because such genuine faith marks a true relationship with God and a true witness to others. Wisdom is pleasing God. We cannot please God with an artificial faith that produces artificial fruit in our lives. We can please God when we come to him, bruises and all, with an honest and genuine faith.