Today’s Devotion
Topic: Check The Fruit
Text: Luke 6: 43- 45
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Amen
Every tree bears its kind. Scientists may be interested in grafting two different plants so that two different fruits can be expected from the stem of the mother plant. It is of great doubt however, that scientists would ever be interested in a technology where the seedlings of one plant (say mango), will be nursed and grown with the expectation that it produces an entirely different fruit (say orange).
Why should anyone grow mango seedlings and expect oranges? How is it possible to assume that a mango tree can support orange fruits better than the orange tree would?
Beloved, stop working so hard just to convince people about how good you are. If you were good, they will know. Not from your words alone but from the GOOD stored up in you. That one shows forth in your works, and gives you away easily.
Just as the genetic component of a plant determines what type of tree it is and the kind of fruit it should produce, the virtues or vices stored up in the heart of a man determines whether one is good or bad at heart.
You don’t need to look so far for evidence to know what kind of person your leader, neighbour, pastor, boss, subordinate, friend, spouse, colleague or the politician that needs your vote is!
If they have accepted the Lord Jesus into theirs hearts and allowed the Holy Spirit to dwell and infill them, then we will expect them to have that divine DNA that produces good fruits of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5: 22-23).
Any tree that bears any other fruit apart from those mentioned above has not yielded entirely to the Lord Jesus. The fruit it bears shall be considered a “bad fruit”, an indication that there is something fundamentally wrong with either the tree or farming practices adopted in growing that particular tree.
We need to take not a sample, but the whole tree to the laboratory for the Senior Research Scientist, Doctor Jesus, to fix it to bear fruits that glorify God. Otherwise it will be cut down and thrown into fire. (Matthew 7: 19)
Take a reflective look at your life child of God. What type of tree are you? What kind of fruit are you bearing? Begin to pray now, ask for grace to bear good fruits in every aspect of your life. Remember the words of Jesus, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16)
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