Good Trees—Good Fruit

You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.' Matthew 7:13-23

…Just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Our actions may speak louder than our words. Do you hear yourself calling out to others…Do what I say, not what I do? What are you doing?  Are you living in a way that you are producing good fruit?

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. Galatians 5:22-26 NLT

Good trees—good fruit. Jesus told an interesting story about a fig tree—planted in a vineyard, not just growing wild.

No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too. Then Jesus told this story: "A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I've waited three years, and there hasn't been a single fig! Cut it down. It's just taking up space in the garden.' "The gardener answered, 'Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.'" Luke 13:5-9 NLT

Fig trees in the Bible typically represent the Jewish people. But similarly, I find this parable amazing because like that fig tree we are planted in a church—our vineyard—and expected to grow and produce fruit. Jesus, the gardener—the vine dresser, is giving us another chance. We will be cut down if we don’t grow and produce fruit. Figs are not going to come from thistles. Are you like a well pruned and cared for tree, or like a thorny old thistle? What kind of fruit do you produce?

Prayer ~ Lord Jesus, thank you for interceding for us and for giving us another chance to change and produce good fruit. Whether it is lemons, figs, apples or grapes—may your love and grace flow through us.

© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm