What's The Fruit?

This blog is based on the following Bible reading plan passages: Matthew 12, 13, 14 and 15. 

At the start of the readings this week, Jesus makes a strong statement that “…a tree is identified by its fruit.” Matthew 12:33 NLT 

We can tell an apple tree by the apples it produces and an orange tree by the oranges that we can pick. Just as with a fruit tree, we can also tell the nature of a person by the fruit they produce. Someone who knows Jesus and has his nature will be producing the fruit of the Spirit, the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

So what fruit are you producing? Or, more challengingly, what fruit are those around us seeing and picking? Are they getting the love? What about patience when the pressure is on and we have been frustrated by other things? Or are we known as good people? 

It’s easy to be producing good fruit when there is no pressure and everything is going well. It is when life throws up the challenges and tough moments that we get to really see what the quality of our fruit is. 

In the very next chapter (13), Jesus faces one of his toughest moments as a human living on the earth. His cousin, John the Baptist, who was a close relative and was also the forerunner to him in ministry is arrested and then killed by Herod. Not only has Jesus lost someone who meant a lot to him, but he must also have been wondering about what this meant for his own life. 

So, Jesus takes his closest friends, the disciples, and withdraws for some time out. This is a very natural thing to do, and I am sure we would all do that ourselves. This was the right thing to do in the circumstances but unfortunately it got hijacked by the crowds who found out where Jesus was, making demands on him for healing. 

This is so often the case for us; we are at a difficult point in our day, week or even life and then someone comes along and makes a demand of us, and it seems like they are only thinking of themselves! 

At this low point, Jesus still produced the fruit of love, of generosity, of kindness and gave the healing, freedom, teaching and provision the people needed. It was at this point of personal grief that the feeding of the 5000 took place followed by loads of miracles. 

When a storm or strong wind comes, it doesn’t stop a fruit tree from producing its fruit. In the same way, when our lives are challenged, we are still to produce the fruit of the 

Spirit. Just like Jesus, our lives are to be available to others and give out because, like Him, we are good trees that produce good fruit. 

Let’s do a check this week and make sure that the fruit others are getting from us is coming from a good tree!