The Axe

UV 3690/10000 The Axe And already the axe (of God’s judgement) is swinging toward the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3 v 10 God has a claim on our lives being first, our Creator and then, our Redeemer. Now it behooves us to bear fruit that is consistent with repentance. Our decisions, behaviour, attitudes and actions are the evidence of our having been saved by faith. We can no longer be like the rest of the world or like we were before we were redeemed. Jesus makes a huge difference in our lives. We are to reflect His grace and truth in our lives. If we do not do so, we are acting presumptuous. Failing which, the Lord has to take things into His hand. Jesus speaks of the “axe” of judgement falling on the root of faith. We are attached or grafted not just to any root but to the good root. We are bound to bear fruit and fruit in abundance. Sometimes even though the root is good and strong, we are not supplying the right kind of nutrients and water to the root to flourish. The Word and other inputs are needed for the root to be strong and good. Or else, we will become ‘dry roots’. We are not just to produce any kind of fruit but the fruit that the Lord commends in us. The fruit of the spirit -love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control – are the inner fruit. Some of these are attitudinal fruit or attitudes we need to develop and consistently manifest- humility, patience, love, joy. Some are behavioural like kindness, goodness and self control. The other kind of fruit that needs to be in evidence are the fruit of our labour and the fruit of our faith. The fruit of our labour is the work we do in this world to earn a living. Paul wrote this rule that no one should eat who does not work. The fruit of our faith is the persons we are sharing our faith with, the souls redeemed through our sharing, the persons who are edified, encouraged, built up through our prayers, our teaching, our service. Jesus spoke some words to the fig tree that did not have any fruit on it to satisfy His hunger as a metaphor of warning to us. The Lord has a hunger to see fruit in our lives. We are to be earnest and diligent to bear the different kinds of fruit, inner fruit, external fruit. The Holy Spirit can fertilize and aid our fruit bearing since the fruit are spiritual in nature. We need to take conscious and deliberate steps to avoid the Lord even thinking of swinging His axe towards our root. If the root is good, the tree should be fruitful. We are known by the different kinds of fruit or results we bring forth in the course of our lives. The Lord is patient even as He daily examines us to see the kind of fruit we are bearing. Every fruit tree bears fruit of one kind or other. The bearing of fruit is the purpose of the tree. If we are not fulfilling the purpose of our lives, the axe may be on its way.