Trees

Trees in the Old Testament symbolized godly living.  Think of yourself as a tree; are you bearing any fruit?  If Jesus came along and stopped in front of you to find fruit, would He find any, or would He just find a barren tree taking up space?

Are you experiencing a changed life and are you excited to get going to get busy for the Lord, or are you depending on everyone else to do all the work?  It seems like about 10 percent of the believers do all the work in the church and the rest seem to just warm the pews.  Every believer has a gift, or is talented in some area and can contribute to the Lord’s work, helping to further the kingdom.

There is some confusion over works in different religions; some think they can get to heaven by doing good works and some think when they become born-again they are just going to skate along, so to speak, until the Lord takes them home, or it seems that way, but neither are true.  You can never work your way to heaven, but if you are truly a born-again believer you have been saved unto good works; bearing good fruit is very important to the Lord.  

In Ephesians 2:10 it says this in my NAS Bible, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Good works cannot save you but will always follow salvation.  

Jesus told this parable in Luke 13:6-9, “And He began telling this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”  This tree only took up space and produced nothing for the patient gardener. This is one way the Lord related to the people showing that He would not put up with their laziness and unproductivity forever.

Do you enjoy the blessings and benefits of a Christian life without giving anything back to the Lord in return?  Are you the barren tree that thinks only of yourself and no one else?  John the Baptist had this to say about this subject in Luke 3:9-14, “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  And the crowds were questioning him, saying, ‘Then what shall we do?’ And he would answer and say to them, ‘The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.’ And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.’ Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, ‘And what about us, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”’  We need to do more than talk the talk, we need to walk the walk, and put our faith into action by doing good works and producing good fruit in our lives.  Faith without works is completely useless.     

Maybe the tree in Jesus’ parable didn’t bear fruit because it lacked the resources it needed to bear fruit, like fertilizer, water and tender loving care.  That is not the case with a believer; the Lord has provided all the resources we need, all we need to do is apply them.  So if you are like the barren tree, go and start bearing good fruit so that your light will shine and others will see and experience your good works and will glorify your precious heavenly Father and He will be pleased with you.  Something to think about, God bless and have a super day!!