Good Trees

4/16/2016

Matthew 3.10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. – St John, the Baptist

It is probably a worthwhile endeavor to stop once in a while and take inventory of one’s life, purpose and meaning. What on earth am I here for? What am I doing? What do I hope to accomplish? John the Baptist preached that every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Ancient Palestine was a heavily forested area. Trees were important for many things, including heat, construction, and food. And John said the worthless trees would be the trees relegated to the most ignoble of uses: fire. I suppose if that is all they are good for, then they are good for something.

It’s one thing to make that assessment about trees but it’s quite another when it has to do with people. But the reality is our lives were meant for something. We are on earth for a reason. There is nothing wrong with contribution and productivity. There is nothing wrong with attempting to make our lot in life a little more bearable. Even in the worst of circumstances, the sun shines; the needed rains come.

John’s point was that of judgment. John’s point the ancient Jews was that of participation in the things of God. After all, the Jews were God’s chosen instrument to make Him known to the rest of the world. The question was, were they doing what they were supposed to be doing? The answer was: No.

Somehow things got all turned upside down and relationship with God became regulation of life. Do this, don’t do that, was all they focused on. Certainly there is a place for regulation but it isn’t in the realm of love. And regulation isn’t a means of scoring behavior points with God. God wasn’t/isn’t keeping score; He’s seeking friends – those who will love Him, see things His way, and cooperate willingly with Him.

John was pointing these things out and taught that if one was counting one’s points in order to impress God, one was wasting one’s life; one had become a tree without fruit, and destined for nothing more than fuel for a fire. Life is more than fuel.

I think that is why refocusing, retooling, and re-calibrating our lives is so important. Good questions might be: 

• What am I doing to bear the fruit of goodness, kindness, peace, and faithfulness? 
• Are these things evident in my life as I live and work amidst my fellow man? 
• Am I a giver, a producer; or am I just a sponge and a consumer? 
• If my life was to be intimately examined, would there be any evidence of fruit?

My life is to be productive and contributive. I believe that. That has been deeply ingrained into me from an early age. The danger is my focusing on that to the point where it only amounts to a means of garnering merit. The other side of that is simply living life for the goodness and well-being of others. Does the outcome of my living bring them goodness, peace, patience, kindness and the like? If so, I am a tree bearing fruit for the benefit of others…

Father in Heaven, in this imperfect and fallen world, may I be used to bear fruit for the good of others. May my life be a life lived on purpose to help and to bless others. Use me to bear good fruit that others may be aided and helped in their own journeys, that Your Name would be glorified among men – amen.