What’s Growing in Your Life? Roots Tell the Story
Matthew 7:17 (NIV):
"Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."
Start with the Roots
One thing I’ve learned over the years as both a pastor and a follower of Jesus is this: fruit doesn’t lie. You can say what you like with your lips, but the fruit of your life will always tell the truth. Jesus said it clearly in Matthew 7:17, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” That means something deeper than just behaviour. It’s about your roots.
We all want to live fruitful lives. We want to bear the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and so on. But let me ask you, what’s going on beneath the surface? Because rotten fruit doesn't come out of nowhere. It comes from rotten roots.
Hiding the Fruit Doesn’t Fix the Root
Imagine walking past a beautiful apple tree, but when you pick a fruit, it’s rotten on the inside. Now you could say, “Let’s paint the apple red and stick it back on the tree.” But that wouldn’t solve the problem, would it? Yet, how many of us do that in our spiritual lives?
We hide the bitterness. We paint over the pride. We mask the unforgiveness. We think if we just “act right” or show up to church, it’ll fix the deeper issue. But God doesn’t want fake fruit. He wants a transformation from the root up.
This is not a message of condemnation. It’s an invitation to check your roots. What are you feeding your heart and mind with? Who are you listening to? What kind of thoughts are you allowing to grow?
The Root Determines the Fruit
If you plant an orange seed, you won’t get mangoes. If you plant lies, unforgiveness, gossip, or bitterness into your life, you won’t suddenly produce peace, patience, and love.
But here’s the good news: if you plant the Word of God, if you let the Holy Spirit water your soul, if you stay connected to Jesus, your life will produce good fruit. You don’t even have to force it. Fruit is the natural result of a healthy tree.
Jesus didn’t say, “Try harder to bear fruit.” He said, “Abide in Me and you will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5). That’s where it begins, in the hidden place of relationship with Him.
A Real-Life Root Check
Let me share a quick story. A while ago, I noticed I was becoming more impatient, snapping at small things, easily frustrated, losing grace. Now, on the outside, everything looked fine. I was preaching, smiling, doing ministry. But inside, my roots were dry.
I had let the busyness of life and the pressure of leading replace my personal time with Jesus. So, the fruit started going bad. But when I went back to the roots, spending time in prayer, letting the Word speak to me, worshipping not for ministry but for love, the fruit changed.
I didn’t have to “try” to be patient. It just started flowing again because the source was healthy.
3 Ways to Check Your Roots
1. Check What You’re Feeding On
What are you watching, reading, and listening to? Are they feeding your spirit or feeding your flesh? Garbage in, garbage out. The Word of God is not optional. It’s spiritual food. If your soul is starving, the fruit will show it.
2. Check Who You’re Around
Who you walk with affects how you grow. Are the people around you drawing you closer to Jesus or away from Him? Roots grow stronger when they’re connected to the right soil. That’s why church community matters.
3. Check How You’re Abiding
Abiding means staying connected. You don’t visit God on Sundays and then disappear. You stay close. You remain. You rest in Him. When you’re abiding in Jesus, He will prune what needs to go, water what needs to grow, and shape you to bear good fruit.
Let the Holy Spirit Do a Root Work
Sometimes the Holy Spirit doesn’t just prune the fruit. He digs around the root. And that can be painful. He’ll bring things to light, old wounds, wrong thinking, secret sins, not to shame you, but to heal you.
There’s no shame in needing healing. There’s only danger in pretending everything is fine when it’s not. Let Him in. Let Him dig deep. Let Him replant you in the soil of grace.
Psalm 1 says the one who delights in the Word is “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.” That’s who we want to be. Not a flashy tree with fake fruit, but a strong one, rooted in Jesus, producing good fruit that lasts.
Final Thoughts: Good Roots, Good Fruit
If the fruit in your life is sour, don’t just try to cover it up. Ask the Lord to show you the root. Is there pride? Is there unforgiveness? Is there weariness that’s gone unspoken?
Then let Him do a deep work. Get back in the Word. Get around godly people. Take your time in prayer. Say, “Holy Spirit, dig deep. I want to be good ground.”
And I promise you, as your roots grow strong in Christ, your life will overflow with good fruit. People won’t just hear about your faith. They’ll taste it. They’ll see the joy, the peace, the strength, and they’ll want to know your Jesus.
Stay rooted. Stay connected. Let God change you from the root up.