Reading 13
Recognized by Our Fruit—Matthew 12
Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good. Or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. Matthew 12:33
How many times have you gone to a produce stand or farmers’ market and purchased fruit? You pick out what looks good. You take it home, wash it, cut it open. You take that first bite and realize that this fruit tastes horrible! You think to yourself why is this fruit so bad? Then you realize that perhaps it came from a bad tree.
Trees require lots of love just like we do. hey must be watered, fed, pruned, and protected from the elements. We want to ensure that the fruit we grow is good on the inside as well as outside. This is how we also raise our children. They are like our little fruits. We must love them, feed them, nurture them, teach them so that when they are ready, they can go into the world to be good citizens. What we do for our children determines how they will grow.
A tree is judged by the fruit. We are all God’s trees. If we are good trees, we will produce good fruit. Even if a person has no children, they are still one of God’s trees and can go into the community to serve and therefore produce good fruit.
To Consider:
- What will you do today to be a better tree?
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me the gift of life. Please continue to help me produce healthy fruit so that our world can be a better place. Amen.
Sharon Benton has been a member of Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Raleigh since 1984. She is involved several community organizations serving the blind and visually impaired community.
