“Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”–Matthew 3:10 

I’m a sinner! 

I haven’t always been the kindest.

I haven’t always treated those that are different than me with respect and love. 

I have jumped to conclusions when I should have listened to both sides. 

In other words, I have been so guilty of not always bearing good fruit. 

So I hear this verse and I no longer feel comfortable because if I am not a child of God who bears good fruit, will I be one of the first thrown into the fire? To be honest, it sounds like that’s exactly the case when I hear this passage. 

The truth is that I am the tree who is dying because of the hatred and evil I see around me. I am the dying tree thirsting for water. I am the tree fighting for life in this broken world. I am a tree who needs to reach for the good fruit and not be tempted by the serpents in the garden. 

Adam and Eve committed the first sin when they ate of the tree even after God told them not to eat of it. Are we deaf to God’s words too? Are we so selfish that we forget to bear good fruit in this world? 

Knowing that I’m a sinner, in need of God’s grace, I yearn for hope, justice, kindness and mercy in this world. Will we be willing to bear fruit even when it costs us our own comfort? Will we let our roots dig in deep and bear goodness and kindness and mercy? 

As I let my roots dig in deep, I must cling to the promise of Jesus who was born into the silence of the night. Jesus who is the Word made flesh in this broken world and is the Word I must cling to when it seems all of us are barren trees who are struggling to bear good fruit.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life,[a] and the life was the light of all people.”–John 1:1-4