"By their fruits you will know them," said Jesus -- and there has always been the question: what did He mean by "fruits"? How do we know someone -- what they are really about? We ask because it's such an intriguing statement -- with the potential for evaluating matters we otherwise can not judge.

"By their fruits."

Think about it: a fruit is something we produce. It is something that is nutritious. It's something that thus helps others. It's delectable. It's pleasant. It comes from deep within. We can say and promise many things -- we can talk --  but actions (and what we actually produce) speak louder than words. At the supermarket, they even call it the "produce" section!

Our fruits also identify us. "For the tree is known by its fruit," states Matthew 12:33. Our we good 'fruit inspectors"?

Now meditate on that: we know a tree is an apple tree because of the apples, and that a peach tree is a peach tree because of its peaches, and a fig, and so forth. We know there is something wrong if the fruit from a tree is always cracked or too small. Or bitter when it should not be bitter. If it won't ripen. Often, the problem is in the roots.

What fruits are people around you producing? What are your own fruits?

What if a tree produces nothing?

When that happens -- when there is no fruit -- we don't know the tree. We can't identify it. When we do not produce "fruit," we can't recognize ourselves! If you feel lost -- if you don't know who you really are, or have lost touch -- check to see if you are bearing fruit!

Is what is coming from you building people up -- nourishing them, is something good flowing from you -- or does it have the opposite effect?

By their fruits you can judge how much sunlight is in a person's life, how much "fertilizer," how much water -- and how well rooted they are! Stay in the company of those who produce righteously.

Fruits can be many things but rarely do we think of another aspect: that a fruit is not something for the tree itself, that the tree itself consumes. There is a big lesson here.

Meditate on this: fruit is produced not for the tree -- but for fellow living creatures or to reproduce.  The fruits of our society have turned bad because we have cut off fruit that bears seeds that bear perpetuity.

You can thus discern someone on what they produce for other people and for the future and you can know that when you don't produce in a way that's unselfish -- that's for the nourishment of fellow humans -- you get bottled up. You inflate with emptiness. The "living waters" that God sends back up. They become stagnant. In some cases, you even bloat like dead wood!

Is your tree producing good fruit -- or cracking at the bark? If so, it could be because you are not unleashing what God wants to send through you. You're holding something in. It could be a hurt. It could be anger. It could be sin. Something is bottling you up. You could be bloated -- "puffed up" -- with pride.  You could be ready to "explode" due to a lack of forgiveness (or lack of patience). You could be poorly rooted.

Are you "stretched to the limit"? Are you "swollen"? Are you "up to here"? Are you so big that you are "beside yourself"? Is your wood cracking -- gnarled and ready to rot in the orchard? The "well" within you (as one author puts it) is clogged.

Only when the Holy Spirit flows freely through and from us (to others) can we expect miracles -- and when we do, boy can we expect them! The fruit flourishes and returns and multiplies! Health comes to us as God moves from our roots through our branches to others! Let that flow!

The more we release, the more He sends. Release all anger. Release all hurts. Produce nothing you would not want to present to Jesus. Let His waters cleanse you.

This is true health. Here you will find happiness and balance.

Thanksgiving, praise, forgiveness. These bring the living water through the roots and trunk into the leaves, into the blossoms. Let us add: love and humility. This makes God flow though us. There is even the fragrance of Heaven. The more fruit, the more healing. God is released! He creates through you.

A key to life: Let go and let God and you will bear fruit with Him forever.

[resources: Break Open Your Wells and The Other Side]

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