Which Tree Are You?

Galatians 5:19-23

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Imagine walking through a peaceful grove of fruit trees. There are apple trees, orange trees, and my favorite, apricot trees. They are all bearing fruit and ripe for the picking.

After you have gorged yourself on fresh fruit you come upon a grove of trees that are withered up and dying. There are no leaves, no fruit, just empty husks of trees that have died.

Quite a contrast! Trees that are alive and trees that are dead. As you read today’s verses ask yourself a simple question: which tree am I?

Serving Christ brings joy, peace, and a fruitful life. Trying to live without Christ leads to a life full of pain, degradation, and sorrow.

One of the greatest things about following Christ isn’t just that we get to go to Heaven, although that is pretty cool. There is also what following Christ does for us each day. Look again at Galatians 5:22-23 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

Can you imagine a world where everybody has these attributes? Amazing! A world that is like that starts with you and me being like that.

So which tree are you?

Today’s Readings: Deuteronomy 25-27, Galatians 5

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