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“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit.” Luke 6:43 (ESV)

One of my fave things about Summer is fresh fruit.  Peaches, strawberries, apples, pineapples – you name it nothing tastes better on a hot day than sweet, cool refreshing fruit.  But this past week, I’ve been digesting a different type of  fruit found in Luke 6:43. A verse we’ve probably read a dozen or more times.  Yet as I began to unpack fruit bearing trees, I learned some incredible truths.

One of those nuggets was the realization that poor pollination can cause a tree to not bear good fruit.  At just the right time bees pollinate the flowering blooms on fruit trees which will result in good fruit. However, if anything (insecticide, wind, rain) interferes with this process, the tree will not produce good fruit and maybe fruitless.

So how does this relate to us?  As followers of Christ we are designed to bear good fruit.  The fruit we will bear is a direct result of God’s word pollinating our hearts and lives – soaking in His truths. Allowing them to penetrate deep so we bear the good fruit of personal application. This sweet friend is good, rich soil thriving and fruitful as we internalize God’s word.

Our enemy’s tactic, however, is to create resistance to those truths – blow them away (wind)  and eliminate (rain) them so they don’t seep in and develop good fruit in us. Matthew 13:22 reminds us that the one who hears the word but allows the cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches to choke out the word will prove to be unfruitful.  Satan’s schemes revolve around keeping us distracted, busy and consumed with other things. Leaving little time in our day for soaking in God’s word. If he can get our focus off of God and onto our world then it won’t be long before we resemble the very things which capture our gaze. Allowing ourselves to dismiss HIs truths and zeroing in on what’s in it for us will never result in fruitfulness.

Don’t know about you but I want my life to be abundantly fruitful for His glory!  I want God to see His child brimming full of the power of His truths transforming a tiny bud into delicious fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) that will taste ever so sweet to those around me.  Absolutely love the consistency and faithfulness of God’s word – His truth penetrating a willing heart to be changed by Him and focused on Him will produce amazing fruit.

“Father, nothing can stand in the way of our fruitfulness except for moments when we choose to resist Your truth. Help us to stand strong against the enemy’s schemes and walk confidently in the power of Your word.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life