While on vacation a few weeks back with my family, our city was hit by a horrendous rainstorm. Winds up to 100 mph, with lightning and thunder. Unbeknownst to us, we couldn’t fathom the degree of damage done by this incredible storm. We learned that a lightning bolt had struck one of our trees on our front parkway, just inches from our mailbox. We surveyed the neighborhood; there were some trees down in the aftermath, but our house was the only one truly struck by lightning on the block.
It was a clean break of a cut from the trunk, like a smooth chop of a carrot. The chef, Mother Nature, had really done a nice job! I must take a moment to explain that the “down tree” had in recent years become an eyesore. Its branches had grown so long that it had entangled with the other tree beside it. It also seemed that the tree was sickly. There were scaly and pale spots on its trunk that looked like sores.
Observing the fallen cadaver, I was reminded of a Bible scripture about trees bearing fruit. Many other passages in the Bible talk about pruning branches, cutting off rotten fruit, etc. Here are just a few I found:
John 15:8 – “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”
Matthew 7:20 – “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
John 15:5 – “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
Matthew 13:23 – “But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Colossians 1:10 – “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Luke 6:43-44 – “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.”
James 3:17 – “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”
Proverbs 11:30 – “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”
Matthew 7:17-18 – “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”
Ephesians 5:9 – “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; …”
Philippians 1:11 – “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”
The one that struck me the hardest (no pun intended) is the passage in Luke 6:43-45, from NKJ Bible version:
For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
- Was the tree bearing “bad” fruit and thus had to fall?
- Were the roots not strong enough to keep it grounded?
- How is the falling of this tree representative of humanity and where we are today?
I’m with the belief that your fruits reveal your roots. What you say and do is really what’s in your heart. ( Proverbs 18:21. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.)
Seems like the tree wasn’t bearing any more of anything good and therefore needed to be cut off! It’s the same with humans. I’m not saying that if you have pimples on your left arm, you should cut off that arm? No way! But sometimes evil things need to be exposed and removed to make it right again. A cleansing of sorts, an inward look at ourselves to take away the grit and dirt that has distorted, polluted, hurt, and twisted us.
The same applies to trees, foliage, and other plants. If they are sick, damaged, or destroyed branches, stumps, and leaves, that is root rot; it must be taken out. And where are the sources of good or evil found? The ground, the foundation.
So, as I stood and stared at our collapsed tree, and I wondered if this was a sign from God. A sign to show me the fragile foundation I’ve been wandering on, and how the unsteadiness of my life has kept me from connecting to the Heavenly Source. Because I’ll be honest, I’ve been relying on my own self, my own source, not locking in with the Lord Jesus through prayer and meditation on the Word. My faith has been like a house built out of code, wrong plaster, faulty studs, crooked steps, and incorrect wiring. (Matthew 7:26. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:…)
My well-being was not up to par, unless…I believe this was God’s way of getting my attention. I realized I needed pruning. (John 15:2. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.)
Letting God’s Word replenish my soil; feeding my roots so that I can grow tall and my branches would be strong and not become entangled with things that, well, don’t glorify God! I smiled. Jesus is My Potter. I am His Clay. (Isaiah 64:8. But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.)
So, mold me, Lord. Guide me back to the Truth.
A tree is only as strong as its firm foundation. I want to thrive on solid ground. Do you?
(Matthew 19:26. But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”)
Until next time…
Be well. Be safe. Be happy!
References:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%206%3A43-45&version=NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs%2018%3A21&version=NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207%3A26&version=NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015%3A2&version=NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2064%3A8&version=NKJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2019%3A26&version=NKJV
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
Leave a Reply