What Kind of Tree Would You Be?

In the Bible, a prophet was a person chosen by God to deliver a message to the people. A false prophet was anyone who falsely claimed to be a messenger of God.

Jesus warned about false prophets and said that we can recognize them by their fruit: a true prophet bears good fruit and a false prophet bears bad fruit.

Matthew 7:15-20 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

In the book of Galatians, chapter six, the apostle Paul listed several examples of the fruits of the Holy Spirit and the acts of our sinful natures.

Good Fruits of the Spirit	Acts of a Sinful Nature
Joy	Sexual immorality
Peace	Idolatry
Patience	Hatred
Kindness	Jealousy, envy
Goodness	Selfish ambition
Faithfulness	Debauchery
Gentleness	Discord, dissension
Self-control	Fits of rage

In this age of Twitter, Facebook and instant news, we are bombarded with messages from friends, family, the media, celebrities, political parties and special interest groups. Certainly, very few people in the world today claim to be prophets, but many people claim to be religious. Sadly, their actions do not display the good fruits of the spirit. I don't recognize them!

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? I know what kind of tree I want to be - a good tree, one that bears good fruit, like one planted by streams of water.

Psalm 1:1-3 New International Version (NIV)

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that  sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,    and who meditates on his law day and night.  3  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,  which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither -  whatever they do prospers.

This means I need to meditate on God's word and to think about all things good! 

Originally posted by author on 2/7/2013