Read through the Gospels in a Year: Luke 6:43-49
Read the New Testament in a Year: Philippians 4:8-13
Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. — Luke 6:44
I don’t enjoy gardening but my wife always has dreams of turning our home in Ironton into the farm she grew up on. So one year, I gave in and we planted a garden in our backyard. We planted everything imaginable and because of my mad farming skills, very few things actually grew. Because I didn’t pay attention while we were planting, my favorite part was to go out and look at what was produced (and we didn’t label anything).
In Luke 6, Jesus isn’t just talking about trees or plants. He’s talking about people. People can be known by what they produce. On the outside everything can look good, but the fruit that is produced might not be as pleasant as the outward appearance.
Faith has a way of producing fruit in us. Faith that is founded on strong roots in God, his promises to us, his Word in us, faithful prayer, and a community of believers around us can’t help producing the fruits of justice, peace, good news, grace, love, and forgiveness. Good trees bear good fruit, and bad trees bear bad fruit.
What kind of fruit is faith producing in you? If the produce of your life isn’t very good, it’s time to take a look at the tree of your life. Take a look at what roots you have, and begin to develop the good roots of faith provided by Christ. When the roots are good, the fruit can’t help being good as well.
Happy 4th of July!
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