Summer is great because freshness is displayed either at the Farmers Market, grocery store, or in a fruit basket. Who doesn’t enjoy a juicy cherry, refreshing watermelon, or tasty Ontario peach? At spring time, novices like me have difficulty to discern what type of fruit tree he is looking at; and without the help of a more knowledgeable person, the person is never sure if he is looking at an apple, cherry, or pear tree. But late summer things look different, because you can see the fruits.
Jesus used the metaphor of fruit to describe the produce of our lives. “A tree is identified by its fruit. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart” (Luke 6:43). Pay attention to “a tree is identified by its fruit”. Fruit is the direct result of whatever controls our hearts (Matthew 15:19). The fruit of a life not surrendered to Jesus includes “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,” and many more evil acts (Galatians 5:19–20). In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit of God is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23).
The question is rather simple: What type of fruits fall from your life?
John O Gaucher