Healthy Trees Bear Good Fruit

A good (healthy) tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit, nor can a bad (diseased) tree bear excellent fruit [worthy of admiration]. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. Therefore, you will fully know them by their fruits. Matthew 7:18-20 Amplified

This is the harvest time of the year and we’ve seen several semi-trucks of apples being hauled down the highway on their way to the apple storage or processing plants nearby. The orchard trees are laden with fruit and we’ve already picked the apples on the tree in our backyard. Nothing like good fresh fruit, but it does take some work to get perfect fruit. Everyone just takes for granted that those apples in the store—perfect and shiny are how all the apples on the trees look. Not so. The trees have to be healthy to produce good blossoms and then develop into good fruit. It takes some effort on the part of the orchardist to protect the blossoms from freezing, then thinning and culling out the small apples as they begin to grow, and then pest management so that they aren’t eaten up by bugs. A lot of prayer helps to so that the fruit isn’t damaged by wind or heavy rain. The orchardist cuts down the trees that are diseased or don’t produce fruit. He can’t afford to have a rotten tree jeopardize his whole orchard. His orchard is known by the quality of the fruit that is produced there. That’s just as it is in God’s kingdom. People are known by the quality of their fruit—the productivity in their lives. Are you productively working for the Lord?  

RSVP: Jesus is warning us that people are known by their fruits—their efforts for the Lord. How will you respond to His call today?

Prayer ~ Jesus, You have led us to a life of productivity for You. Help us to produce good fruit for You, encouraging others to seek and serve You.

© 2014 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.