What Fruit Do You Bear?

“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Psalm 92:13-14).

Palm trees and Lebanese trees symbolize strength and permanence, which is in contrast to the weakness of brevity of the wicked. They are trees that stand erect. Now, historically there weren’t really trees in the Temple but the point is that if there were, they would flourish because they are as close to God as they could get.

And because they are strong trees and they stand upright no matter the circumstances, they are bound to flourish.

Anyone who stands in righteousness and is for God will flourish. The closer you are to God, the more this will be the case.

Remember in Psalm 1 that the godly man is like a tree planted by the water and bore fruit (Psalm 1:3). The man of God is “like a tree” who is productive and fruitful. He is “planted,” which refers to a permanent state. The man of God plants himself in water. Why? So that he can grow. He does this in order to be productive.

The man of God is known by the fruit he bears. Charles Spurgeon writes, “The Lord’s trees are all evergreens. No winter’s cold can destroy their verdure; and yet, unlike evergreens in our country, they are all fruit bearers.”

The man of God produces fruit because he puts himself in a place to grow. The man of God plants himself wherever and whenever he can in order to grow. He makes whatever sacrifice in his own personal time to be “planted by the rivers of water” so he can grow.

Why? Because a man of God is known why what fruit he bears.