Jesus said something simple, but it has a way of exposing all of us:

You must determine if a tree is good or rotten. You can recognize good trees by their delicious fruit. But if you find rotten fruit, you can be certain that the tree is rotten. The fruit defines the tree.
— Matthew 12:33 (TPT)

I often like to eat Fuji apples, but I like to slice them and sprinkle sea salt on them. There have been times I’ve pulled an apple out of the refrigerator that looked perfect—washed it, sliced it open—and found something I wasn’t expecting. It was rotten on the inside. And that’s the truth of life:

What’s on the inside eventually makes its way to the outside.

So here’s the first question I want you to consider today:

What kind of fruit are you currently producing?

Because the fruit always tells the truth about the root.

Pressure Reveals What’s Inside

We often find out what’s inside of us during a time of crisis. Think about it this way: if you’re driving and someone suddenly pulls out in front of you, what’s the first thing that comes out of your mouth? That might be a scary thought… but it’s likely what’s been living inside you.

I remember about 23 years ago, I was driving to work at a normal speed when a truck ran a stop sign and T-boned me. My car flipped two and a half times. I vividly remember seeing it coming and being unable to do anything about it. And I screamed one word:

“JESUS!”

That’s what I want on the inside of me—so deeply—that it comes out in both good times and hard times.

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Firmly Planted Trees Produce Good Fruit

Psalm 1 gives us a picture of what a stable, fruitful believer looks like:

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season…
— Psalm 1:1–3 (NASU)

If we want to be like a tree firmly planted, it begins with two things:

• Delighting ourselves in the Lord
• Meditating on Him and His Word consistently

This brings balance. And balance is critical, because the faster life gets, the easier it is to lose balance without even realizing it.

Some people are moving faster than ever right now. Others have slowed down drastically. But wherever we are, this is a good day to ask God to bring our lives back into spiritual balance.

Because the fruit always tells the truth about the root.

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Trust Is the Secret to Stability

Jeremiah gives us another powerful picture:

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord… They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water… Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
— Jeremiah 17:7–8 (NLT)

These trees aren’t bothered by heat. They aren’t worried by drought. They stay green and keep producing fruit. Why? Because they trust the Lord, and their roots go deep into the water.

If ever we need to be in a place of trust, hope, and confidence in the Lord, it is in the times we are living in right now.

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The Tree Matters: Roots, Trunk, and Branches

If the fruit defines the tree, then it’s worth looking at what makes a tree healthy.

1) Roots

A strong root system has three purposes:

• Support (stability)
• Storage (strength for hard seasons)
• Nutrient pickup (what you are feeding on)

Jesus warned in the parable of the sower that some receive the Word with joy, but when trouble comes, they fall away because they have no real root. We don’t want shallow roots. We want roots that grow deep through a consistent walk with the Lord—through His Word, worship, prayer, and time in His presence. And we should ask ourselves honestly:

Where are my roots gathering nutrients?

I once heard about a septic system that failed because tree roots grew into the sewage pipes. What a picture. Some of us are feeding on things that cannot nourish our souls. In every season, I have had to let my roots stay closer and closer to the water—more time in the Word, more time in worship, more time in prayer—because I need that nourishment to stay strong.

2) Trunk

Inside the trunk is something called heartwood. It doesn’t carry water, but it gives the tree strength—like a steel beam inside a building. Heartwood reminds me of this:

When Jesus is at the center, we can stand in any storm.

Passion for Christ is not built overnight. It comes from a long-term commitment to walking with Him, not just running to Him in an emergency.

3) Branches

Then we come to the branches—and Jesus could not have been clearer:

Remain in me… For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine… Apart from me you can do nothing.
— John 15:4–5 (NLT)

If we want fruit, we must stay connected.

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Fruit Is the Goal

Spiritual maturity is never the end in itself. We grow up in order to give out.

• Impression without expression causes frustration
• Input without output causes stagnation

God never intended us to become spiritually stagnant. The world is looking for answers. And many times, they are looking for them through the fruit they see in God’s people. Galatians tells us the fruit we want in our lives:

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
— Galatians 5:22–23 (NLT)

So let’s inspect our fruit:

• Is love increasing in me?
• Is joy present, even in difficulty?
• Am I choosing peace, or living in fear?
• Is patience being produced, or am I murmuring?
• Do people experience kindness and gentleness when they’re around me?
• Is self-control evident in my choices?

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Inspect Your Own Tree

This is not a call to become fruit inspectors of everyone else. But it is a call to inspect our own. If the fruit isn’t what it should be, we don’t just need to “try harder.”

We need to go back and examine the tree:

• Roots: Where am I feeding? Am I firmly planted?
• Trunk: Is Jesus truly at the center of my life?
• Branches: Am I remaining connected to the vine?

Because the fruit always tells the truth about the root.

And when our roots reach deep into the living water, we will not be bothered by heat or worried by drought. Our leaves will stay green. And we will never stop producing fruit.