TO BE A TREE
John 6:28.
Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
In the book of John chapter 15 verse 12 we can clearly see what it means to believe in Jesus, as it was Jesus who is quoted here saying this; "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
What did Jesus do while He was on the earth in the flesh. He preached repentance and salvation and He healed the sick, fed the hungry, raised the dead and cast out demons.
In the book of Matthew chapter 7 verse 15 we see where Jesus uses the tree as a spiritual symbol of what we are in the heavenly realms.
Jesus says; "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
"Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."
Take a moment to imagine what would happen to the earth if every type of tree and vegetation suddenly vanished from the planet. Only after a short time, every creature needing air to survive would suffocate because without vegetation especially trees, there would be nothing to create fresh air for our planet.
Imagine what would happen if the same thing occurred to all the earth's water or what would happen to the earth if we lost the sun. With these examples I illustrate this point, everything on and even around our planet is designed in such a way that it gives, (produces fruit) to everything else in the same environment In order to sustain life.
As Jesus pointed out by relating us to trees in Matthew 7:15 we humans were also created to serve the same purpose that is to add to, give, produce fruit that sustains life in our environment. We were made to be givers not takers. Just as Jesus had given all of himself to humanity in order to save it from itself. We to are suppose to give of ourselves, even unto death, for the sake of sustaining other lives.
Now just one person in a marriage cannot always be the giver while the other remains always the taker. Common sense tells us that this type of relationship would fail, it requires both people's efforts to make that marriage successful because just as one person has attributes that he/she can give. The same person has needs that require fulfillment. Take the common fruit tree as an example, it will bear good fruit that will feed a person but only if the tree is given the correct conditions in which to grow in. good soil, water, and sunlight. This illustrates God's thumbprint on our world; He made everything in it together in order to survive together.
Just as the air that the oak tree produces or the apple that a fruit tree produces is that tree's fruit, the Bible tells us that the words that we humans speak produces fruit for other people. Proverbs 18:20, from the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
The bible tells us that for every word that we speak while we live here on earth we will be held accountable for all of them when we are judged in heaven.
How does your words effect the people around you every day? We know that if for example a child is fed a constant diet of negative words aimed towards his or her character, this will result in producing fruit in that child in the form of a low or non-existent self-esteem. That child will lack self-confidence and faith in them-self. Negativity begets negativity. We can use the power of our words to build up, or to destroy another person or ourselves. If we constantly complain about problems, we never see these problems corrected only our attitudes negatively effected which only serves to make the problems bigger and harder to deal with. If we are constantly complaining about other people we will never see anything good in them only the bad; and we will continue to grow in contempt towards those people until we finally hate those people for no justifiable reason what so ever.
God knows that His Son Jesus had every justifiable reason on earth to feel contempt for those people who ruthlessly beat, persecuted, and crucified him. They did these things to Him without cause or reason and yet Jesus chose to love all of them beyond the flesh. He did this because He was not placed on the earth in order to demonstrate God's wrath but Jesus was placed on the earth to demonstrate God's grace, mercy, and Love for all of humanity. So your savior looked beyond his ravaged and bloody flesh and all the pain His body was feeling and He focused upon the supreme will of His Father, God in Heaven. As He hung there on the cross Jesus brought forth the fruit of God's unfailing love for His people, you and me, and Jesus spoke aloud a final prayer for all his enemies. "FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO."
Every day we have this same choice of what we do with our words. One positive word given to someone can change their entire day and their attitude. An honest compliment given to someone you see having a hard time, can help him or her get through it in victory, It might even save their life. This doesn't only apply to other people, but it applies to our-selves. You could be at work and things seem to keep going wrong where it looks like you will never get the job done, and you will have two choices here. One choice would be to take a negative attitude towards your situation and tell yourself how much you hate that job and how much you wish you could just walk out, that you will never get this done right and etc, etc. Or you can chose to tell yourself that no-matter what it looks like you are going to overcome and be successful. It never ceases to amaze me at how easy it suddenly becomes when I chose this second option!
CONTRARY TO POPULAR OPINION, YOU CAN LIVE EVERY DAY WITH A SINCERE SMILE ON YOUR FACE, SIMPLY BY PRODUCING GOOD FRUIT IN YOUR LIFE BY BELIEVING IN JESUS AND DOING THINGS THE WAY HE DID THEM.
Look at the fruit tree that brings forth its' fruit in its season. What conditions does this tree require to be successful. It requires good soil to grow strong roots in, it requires exposure to sunlight so its' leafs and blossoms will bud, it requires exposure to rain, for its' food.
Now take a look at yourself in the same way. You need to be rooted in good soil, which is the word of God and the living word of God, Jesus Christ. John 15:5 Jesus tells us, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." You need regular exposure to the light of the SON, which you can get by praying to Jesus every day. You need the water of life that comes upon you by way of lifting your branches, your hands, toward Heaven in worship of God. John 4:14, Jesus tells us about this "water of life". "But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
You see we where all created by the Lord to be fruitful trees that can feed the Lord by bringing our fruit to His kingdom. This fruit for a Christian is in the form of prayers and in the form of souls that we have guided to Jesus. Every man woman and child that you teach about Jesus is fruit that will be harvested in its' season by the Lord God. But beware of becoming a bad tree that bears bad fruit, which is no fruit at all to God. Because then you would be in danger of being removed from your roots and thrown into a fire of God's judgement just like the fig tree that Jesus found fruitless and useless.
Look at what Jesus says of those who are not producing good fruit in John 15:6. "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." We can read about the fig tree in Matthew 21:18. Early one morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except barren leafs. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.
While Jesus lived here on earth He also had fruit of a spiritual nature. John 4:34. Jesus tells his disciples who became concerned that Jesus might be hungry, "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together."
I will conclude by saying this, there is coming a time in every person's life where they will have to face God himself, completely alone, their life on earth finished. The lord will be like He was with the fig tree, He will come up to you and I looking for our fruit. And you and I will have no excuse good enough to give him if we have lived our lives on earth in vanity and fruitlessness only thinking of ourselves while the harvest was rotting in the fields. While the souls of men and women were dying without having been told by us the greatest news. From the beginning of time we have been given a command to be fruitful and multiply and since the resurrection of Christ that command became spiritual in nature for anyone professing to be a true Christian.
BE READY! THE HARVESTER OF SOULS IS COMING!
