In seventh-grade art class, we learned to draw trees with black ink pens. It was my favorite art class, and I began to look more closely at trees (trunks, branches, and fruit). They are beautiful, unique, and strikingly different.
What kinds of trees have you observed? You might have watched the fruit buds appear, mature into blossoms, and then develop into fruit. Maybe you have picked apples or helped harvest oranges, coconuts, figs, or pomegranates.
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Matthew 7:16-18 (NIV)
By Their Fruit
We do not expect figs or bananas to grow on thistles. It would be absurd to look for coconuts on thornbushes. Orange trees do not produce apples.
Jesus spoke these words near the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Just before, He warned His followers, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15). How can we tell the difference? Jesus did not give His listeners a complicated test. He pointed to something every farmer and gardener in Galilee understood: look at the fruit.
Fruit tells the truth. A tree may have handsome bark and a full canopy of leaves, but at harvest time, what hangs from its branches reveals what kind of tree it truly is. Words and appearances can be polished. Over time, the fruit of a life — how a person treats others, what they love, and how they respond under pressure — reveals what is growing in their hearts, minds, and souls.
Fruit also takes time. We do not judge a tree by a single morning or afternoon; rather, we watch it through the seasons. That invites patience and humility, both when we observe others and when we look honestly at our own branches.
Every Good Tree Bears Good Fruit
A few years ago, we visited a local apple orchard. The trees were heavy with apples. Our two oldest grandchildren had a wonderful time. We picked apples, filled our bags quickly, and enjoyed eating fresh ones right there in the orchard.
The good tree bears good fruit. An apple tree does not strain or worry to produce apples. It bears apples because of what it is. Good fruit flows from a good tree, and a good tree draws its life from healthy roots.
So how do we become good trees? Not by trying harder to force fruit onto our branches. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The fruit comes from staying connected to Him.
The psalmist paints the same picture of the one who delights in God’s Word: “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither” (Psalm 1:3). Rooted near water, the tree simply grows.
Paul describes what this good fruit looks like:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
Notice that Paul says fruit, not fruits. These nine qualities are not a checklist to pick and choose from. They ripen together, like a cluster of grapes on a single vine, as the Holy Spirit forms the character of Jesus in us. It is His fruit. Our role is to stay close and yield to His work in our hearts and lives.
A Good Tree Cannot Bear Bad Fruit
Jesus speaks plainly: “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” At first, those words may feel unsettling. What about the days when impatience, sharp words, or worry appear on my branches?
Jesus is describing the nature and direction of a life, not a single hard day. In Luke’s account of this teaching, He adds, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart… For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45). Fruit reveals the root.
The good news is that we can’t make ourselves into good trees, and God doesn’t ask us to. He makes us new. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When we are “in Christ,” the root itself changes.
When I notice bad fruit in my own life, I don’t need to despair. Jesus invites me to return to the Vine. He tells us that the Father prunes every branch that bears fruit “so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2). Pruning can be uncomfortable, but it is the Gardener’s care, not His rejection. We stay close to Jesus, and He grows the fruit.
Head to Heart
Jesus teaches that the fruit of a life reveals the nature of the tree. Good fruit grows from a heart made new in Christ and rooted in Him, as the Holy Spirit produces His fruit within us.
Take a few quiet moments and consider these questions:
- As you look at your life in this season, which qualities of the Spirit’s fruit do you see growing? Thank the Lord for His work in you.
- Is there an area where bad fruit keeps appearing? Rather than trying harder, tell God you will accept His pruning hand.
- What spiritual discipline helps you “remain” in Jesus day to day?
- Who in your life bears the fruit of the Spirit in a way that encourages you? Consider telling them this week.
I still enjoy examining trees and appreciating their beauty. Next time I do, my thoughts will return to Jesus’ words in the Gospels and to His gentle reminder to remain in Him so that my life will bear good fruit.
Friend, stay rooted in Jesus, spend time in His Word, and trust the faithful Gardener. In His time, your branches will yield good fruit.