Roots and Fruits

by Dorothy Teague

Ihad the great privilege of growing up in a time when things were simple. As a child, I got up on Saturday morning and watched cartoons, the ones that were meant to entertain children, not push a political agenda or indoctrinate kids into a lifestyle apart from the one outlined in God’s word. I also watched a lot of “westerns” because my father liked to watch them. My favorite was Roy Rogers, the ultimate “good guy.” Back then, it was easy to tell the good guys from the bad. The good guys wore white hats and black hats were for the bad guys. In real life, sometimes it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad.

There’s a parable in Matthew 13 about the wheat and the tares (weeds) being sown together. The good seed was sown by the owner but as men slept, the enemy slipped in and sowed tares among the wheat. The laborers asked whether they should pull up the tares but the owner said not to because it might disturb the roots of the wheat. The decision was made to leave them growing together until harvest and then the tares were plucked up and burned while the wheat was harvested into the barn. During the growing stages, wheat and tares, or Darnel, as it’s thought to be, look alike, and is hard to tell which is which until it matures.

This is a picture of the world and how it’s filled with Christians and unbelievers trekking this life together. We look a lot alike at times and it’s hard to tell who is who by our actions. Some morally great people in this world aren’t believers and some believers don’t act morally upright as they should. But, as we grow and mature as Christians, like the wheat, we should be producing fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26)—love, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control, just to name a few. We should be firmly rooted and grounded in God’s word and strengthened in our faith (Colossians 2:7), as well as rooted and grounded in love; love for Him and one another (Ephesians 3:17).

First Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” In other words, we should be different, in a good way, and stand out in the crowd by our behavior and actions. We are not the fruit inspectors for others, only God has the right to judge. Our obligation is to lead others to Him by the way we live our lives.

One day there will be a Harvest of souls. God will judge all mankind as to whether we have been washed by His blood, believed in Him, and accepted Him as our Savior. He’s the only one who can see our hearts and know who we really are inside. First Samuel 16:7 says that “man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” At the Great White Throne judgment, God will decide who are true believers. Revelation 20:15 states that “whosoever was not found in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” On that day, the wheat and the tares will be separated forever and each will go to their eternal destination.

About The Author

Dorothy Teague is a Tennessee native, who resides in McMinn County with her husband, Lewis, on their farm. After completing 31.5 years as a teacher in the Bradley County School System, she is active in her church at Eastanallee Baptist Church where she is a member of the choir and praise team.