Are You Wise or Foolish? Jesus' Christmas Challenge That Changes Everything

Would how you live your life get someone into heaven if they followed your pattern?

It's a question that's been rattling around in my brain for weeks, and honestly, it should make all of us a little uncomfortable. Because while most people are preaching about the sweet little baby Jesus this Christmas season, I believe we need to hear is what Jesus grew up to say about how we're actually supposed to live.

Jesus' Rubric for Christian Living

In Matthew 7:24, Jesus gives us what I call His rubric for Christian living. "Everyone that hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man." But here's the kicker - He doesn't stop there. "And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man."

"He says there's either a pass or fail, right? You're either going to graduate or you're going to fail, get held back." There's no C+ in Christianity. "You're either wise or you're either foolish." Our pass/fail is dependent on following Jesus’ teahings.

The Fruit Test That Exposes Everything

Jesus gives us a way to evaluate spiritual authenticity: "Thus you will recognize them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:20). "Fruit is such a big part of Christianity. You got the fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience”…those are the earmarks of the Fruit of the Spirit.

But here's where it gets challenging. "In this moment Jesus tries to help us understand something that we are to judge by fruit." Not just any fruit, but the kind that shows we're actually investing in other people's spiritual lives.

The Scariest Verse in the Bible

"I say the scariest verse in all of Christianity, all of the Bible, Matthew 7:21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven."

Many will say they healed in Jesus' name, preached, went to church, served in homeless ministry. "And Jesus says, 'Depart from me. I never knew you. I never had a relationship with you.'"

"Many celebrated Christmas. And yet, a recent stat said that less than half of American Christians went to church over Christmas season. Does anybody see a problem with that?"

What God Really Wants: Relationship and Reproduction

"The will of the father is to be in relationship with him and I'm not talking about a Facebook relationship or Instagram. Snapchatting with God every once in a while."

God "desires a relationship where we're always in communion with him. We're always talking to him and we're listening to him." But it doesn't stop there.

"If I really love my neighbor as myself, would I not want them to have a healthy relationship with God?” God is the only reason that I have joy, peace, and understand love. God is the reason I have a healthy marriage, and successful relationships. God is the only reason I truly have any hope for tomorrow.

The Question That Changes Everything

Here's the question I wrote down that's been haunting me: "Would how you live your life get someone into heaven if they followed your pattern? Is how you live your life a pattern for someone else to get into heaven?"

"If I was to go and be in your home, would your home lifestyle teach me enough to have a relationship with God and to know God? Would how you work teach me about what it means to be a godly man or a godly woman?"

Life Application: Checking Your Fruit

As we head into 2026, I challenge you to do three things:

Check Your Fruit: "Would you honestly read Matthew 5, 6, and 7? And would you go, 'Okay, yeah, I'm not perfect, but I'm trying. I'm going that direction.'"

Invest in Others: "Who right now do you know that you've encouraged not to be better athlete, not to be a better student, not to be a better anything, but to know God and to be known by God."

Take Your Responsibility: "Each and every one of you needs to start taking your responsibility to disciple one another, to love one another, to encourage one another."

Because "there's many out there that don't know. There's many out there that are walking as so-called Christians, as people that define themselves as Christlike, but have no Christlike attributes."

The baby in the manger grew up to give us a choice: wise or foolish. Which will you choose?