What Kind of Fruit Are You Bearing?

"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience....."
Colossians 1:10-11

Trees and vines are used as symbolism in the bible for bearing fruit.

What does it truly mean to "bear fruit"?
To bear fruit means to produce successful results. To bear fruit means we must stay steadfast and hold on to God's word, not faltering and succumbing to sin, but glorifying God in all that we do. John 15: 8 states, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." As I studied scriptures on this topic, I noticed several passages in the bible talking about if the tree was not bearing good fruit, then the branches were broken off and cast into the fire. It gives me hope that although there may be some imperfections about us, the whole man isn't totally corrupt. Those bad things can be broken off and thrown away, preserving the whole "tree."

Good Fruit
Even good trees, as John 15: 1 states, "Every branch that does bear good fruit is purgeth that it may bring forth more fruit. So although a tree may be "good," it has to be pruned. My husband and I decided to plant some trees in our yard. We both worked very hard on that tree. After a year, unfortunately, my husband accidentally ran over the tree. I mean tore it down to nothing! Well, a year later that tree had grown up and was beautiful! Although it had been broken down to nothing, it turned out to be probably more beautiful than it would have been had he not mowed it down!

Bad Fruit
Matthew 7:17 tells us that a corrupt tree bringeth forth corrupt fruit." 19. "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast unto the fire." There is no use or space for a bad tree. It's not worth keeping because it is not producing anything beneficial.

Fruits of the Spirit
If we possess the fruits of the spirit, then we surely will be good trees bearing good fruit. We can't have some and lack some. We have to possess ALL of these fruits in order to bear good fruit.

Love
Joy
Peace
Longsuffering
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control

I will leave you with this verse from Matthew 7:10:
"Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them." Let's be known by the good fruits that we bear!

Peace & Love