Matthew 7:17-20 “So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

I enjoy walking and hiking through some of the local parks. The nice shade trees spread everywhere as I walk a half-forgotten path next to a small brook and it is absolutely delightful. Some of the trees are rotten though. I did not know they were rotten last fall and only found out this spring. Last fall, the bright colors were everywhere, the leaves had not quite made up their minds whether they wanted to remain on the trees or to cover the ground. There was a riot of color spreading over the world in that little valley. During the winter there was no shade and the hard ground was not so fun to walk on, but I still enjoyed my little forays. The stark branches against the cold, blue sky were beautiful in their own way. Then we had an ice storm come through. When I went walking after all the ice had melted and it was safe again to travel, I found that many of the trees I thought were healthy and strong were broken and rotten inside. They could not hold up to the winter storm that had come through. Despite how they looked on the outside, inside they were compromised and had no strength. Despite how healthy they appeared on the outside, when trouble cam, the trees were proven to be diseased.

As Christians, we are constantly finding ourselves being tested. Our faith is tried, our hope is probed, our grace is assessed – in fact our entire walk with Christ is analyzed. Sometimes we pass and sometimes we don't. In Galatians, Paul speaks about the fruit of the spirit, and when we are tested, that fruit gives evidence of our lives. The wonderful thing is that when we fail part of the testing, God is there to help us back up. He shows us where we need to change and He aids us in changing. On our own, we have no hope of changing, just as a tree has no hope of changing. When Christ shows us our errors though, we remember that we have been spliced and grafted onto Him and we have strength, hope and grace . We have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and even self control! We have only to grow it as we bond with God our Savior.

The holy spirit is continuing the great work of making us more like Christ. He is changing us from a rotten, diseased, malnourished, malformed, and ugly tree with poor fruit into a healthy and growing branch on the vine of Christ. Therefore we should not worry that we do not pass every test of our walk, but instead we should have hope that we will pass the next one. Every test does not just show failure, it also shows improvement. Certainly last time I failed to keep my temper and I was unable to show kindness despite my anger, but this time I managed to keep my temper even though I was angry and not very kind, therefore I have improved. Everything moves us closer to Christ so do not loose heart!

This week, let us focus on the evidence of Christ in our lives. Today always is fresh and new. The failures of yesterday can become today's achievements. God is glorified in our struggle and effort to become more like Him.

Another day begun!
Lord, grant us grace that we,
Before the setting of the sun,
Redeem the time for Thee.