Different Kinds of Trees!

"Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit" (Matthew 7:17 NIV).

There are different kinds of fruit, different kinds of vegetables, different kinds of flowers and different kinds of trees. Good trees--those who are nourished and get all they need to produce good fruit, usually produces good fruit. Bad trees--those who lack appropriate care and nourishment, water, sunlight, pruning, and watching, may produce withered, dried out fruit, abnormal sized fruit, or no fruit at all.

Every thing that grows--including people--need appropriate nourishment, pruning, and watching. We need the love of parents who know how to be parents. We need appropriate environments in which our health will not be impaired or our growth stunted. And we need pruning--the cutting away of all the stuff that will not help us mature as reasonable human beings. It is the pruning that most dislike and rebel against.

The Word of God prunes--reveals to us all that is hurtful to our growth and cuts it away to make room for healthier thoughts, ideas, and actions. Those who rebel against the Word, hold onto all the stuff that hinders growth and maturity and then they get mad at the world because they do dumb stuff and wonder why they can never get anywhere. These are the bad trees.

The good trees--patiently endure the scraping and cutting away of all those things that will hinder growth and they get a chance to see the abundance of productivity that results as the cutting away of the old and making room for the new. They will usually have a harvest of growth that leads to production of other harvests. One plants, one waters, and God gives the increase.

I recently watched a neighbor prune branches of one of his peach trees and cut off those that were not producing edible fruit. Last year, they only grew to the size of a walnut. At the beginning of this spring, only a few leaves blossomed. After his pruning away all the "dead" stuff, leaves are all over the place and I'm sure, the peaces will be much bigger, producing good fruit.

Now, considering all that was said, which kind of tree of are you?

Lord Jesus, help us to endure the pruning and cutting away of all the dead stuff in us, making room for the new growth so we can be productive in every area of our lives, to Your glory!