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We Can Bear The Fruits Of Righteousness, April 6
That they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord,
that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 61:3
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Christians must be like Christ. They should have the same spirit, exert the
same influence, and have the same moral excellence that He possessed. The
idolatrous and corrupt in heart must repent and turn to God. Those who are proud
and self-righteous must abase self and become penitent and meek and lowly in
heart. The worldly-minded must have the tendrils of the heart removed from the
rubbish of the world, around which they are clinging, and entwined about God;
they must become spiritually minded. The dishonest and untruthful must become
just and true. The ambitious and covetous must be hid in Jesus and seek His glory,
not their own. They must despise their own holiness and lay up their treasure
above. The prayerless must feel the need of both secret and family prayer, and
must make their supplications to God with great earnestness.
As the worshipers of the true and living God we should bear fruit corresponding
to the light and privileges we enjoy. Many are worshiping idols instead of the
Lord of heaven and earth. Anything that men love and trust in instead of loving
the Lord and trusting wholly in Him becomes an idol and is thus registered in the
books of heaven. Even blessings are often turned into a curse.
The sympathies of the human heart, strengthened by exercise, are sometimes
perverted until they become a snare. If one is reproved, there are always some
who will sympathize with him. They entirely overlook the harm that has been
done to God’s cause by the wrong influence of one whose life and character do not
in any way resemble those of the Pattern. God sends His servants with a message
to the people professing to be followers of Christ; but some are children of God
only in name, and they reject the warning.
God has in a wonderful manner endowed man with reasoning powers. He
who fitted the tree to bear its burden of goodly fruit has made man capable of
bearing the precious fruits of righteousness. He has planted man in His garden
and tenderly cared for him, and He expected him to bear fruit. In the parable of
the fig tree Christ says: “Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit.” ...
How anxiously we watch a favorite tree or plant, expecting it to reward our
care by producing buds, blossoms, and fruit; and how disappointed we are to find
upon it nothing but leaves. With how much more anxiety and tender interest does
the heavenly Father watch the spiritual growth of those whom He has made in
His own image and for whom He condescended to give His Son that they may be
elevated, ennobled, and glorified.—
Testimonies for the Church 5:249-251
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