Be Fruitful
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Matthew 7:17
“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”
What is Christ talking about in this scripture? Well he is definitely not talking about the fruit we eat, but He is talking about the way you live. Do you live a life that people see and want to emulate? Are you carrying the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23well? Do you know them? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” If you are a good tree, you are bearing good fruit, such as, you have a genuine love for people. You carry an unspeakable joy in your heart that people don’t understand. Your joy can be contagious because it is not the joy the world gives but it is the joy that God gives you to strengthen you when you are in the midst of a storm. You have peace in your life that people see in your reaction to tough situations. They notice your calmness in the midst of adversity. They notice how you talk about how the Master sustains you when things are difficult. They notice how you carry not only your burden but the burdens of others. People notice your kind and gentle spirit. You are never lashing out at people or belittling them in any way. Your faith in God is so evident. You stand firm that whatever it is that you have asked God for will come to life. Your faith is strong enough to believe that if God said it will be, it will be, no matter what it looks like with the physical eyes. We know that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. When you have faith you are holding on to what you see with your spiritual eyes. People also notice how you handle yourself when opposition comes against you. They notice how you use self-control when under fire from the enemy. This is the fruit you must bear. If you are bearing bad fruit, then that means people are seeing the opposite of what I described earlier. Your life does not resemble Christ at all. When people see you they have to start praying because they don’t know what is about to unleash from your mouth. They see how you turn your back on God when trials come. They notice how your life corrupts those that are close to you. The word today says these people that harbor bad fruit will be cut down and wither away. There is a parable in the Bible about the fig tree that Jesus cursed to produce no more. The disciples didn’t understand why He cursed that tree because it was not the season of the fig tree. In this story the fig tree from a far looked like it was bearing fruit because it had leaves, but up close it had no fruit. This represents people who from a distance look like they know Christ . Everything on the outside screams a lover of Christ but the inside is all corrupt and this person is really living the life that does not please God. So by Christ cursing that fig tree, He is saying those that are false prophets, those that live a life that resembles Christ on the outside and not the inside will be cursed in the end and will find themselves joining satan in that bottomless pit of fire. If you say for Christ I live and for Christ I will die, then you need to live that life. You must trust Him with your whole heart and lean not to your own understanding. Your life should lead others to Him. Your life should be all about glorifying the Savior and Kingdom building. You should be following the words in Matthew 28:19 going out and bringing others to Him through the way you live and the way you talk to them about a Savior who is standing at their door with open arms waiting for them to let Him into their hearts. People of God let’s be about bearing good fruit so that others can also come to know Christ.
Be blessed!
