A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

When I was a kid my dad was in the Air Force and we got posted to Melbourne for a little over a year. As an 8 year old boy I was stoked to have a big tree right outside my bedroom that was perfect for climbing. Until spring arrived and the tree was covered in leaves, flowers and then fruit.

Turns out I had been climbing and playing around in a huge apricot tree. I am always reminded of this story when I read this passage. We had no idea what this tree was until it produced fruit. What I thought was an old dead tree turned out to be a beautiful apricot tree waiting for the right season.

I hope my life never leaves people guessing what they’ll see once spring comes.