Walking through the pasture after dinner early in the evening before sundown, father and son inspect Dad's fruit trees that claim a little corner close to the barn.
"Son?"
"Yes Dad."
"Take a look at this tree, will you?"
"OK."
"What do you see?"
"Gross, it looks sick! Look at the leaves, they look like they've been eaten or something. And the bark, it looks rotted out and there's all these bugs around."
"What about the apples, son? Look at the fruit".
"I'm not eating those, that's for sure. They look gross."
"As you can see Son, this tree is sick. It will never produce any fruit safe for eating." He turned and fixed his gaze on a neighboring tree. "Take a look at this one over here."
"Wow, it's beautiful, Dad. Look at those bright red apples. Can I have one?"
"Eat away Son. But I want you to be able to recognize the difference between the good fruit and the bad fruit by sight alone. So how does it taste?"
"Awesome" he chomped away. "So what are you going to do with the bad tree, Dad?"
"Well, since you and I saw that all the fruit on that tree was bad, the tree itself must be the cause. Since it will never produce good fruit it must be cut down. It's absorbing nutrients away from the other trees and producing nothing in return. It's also and taking up valuable space and in return jeopardizing its neighboring trees with potential disease."
"But Dad, the man who sold us this tree said it was healthy."
"True, Son. I don't think he meant to deceive us especially since the other trees he gave us are just fine. It takes time for a tree to bear her fruit and reveal whether it's good or bad. Son, it's time I tell you that people can be like that as well. Trust should never be given easily. Don't misunderstand, you're expected to be polite and considerate to others, but wisdom must be used when exercising the gift of trust. There are different levels if trust. Trust between your neighbor, trust between friends, trust between family members and most importantly, trust between you and God. That kind of trust moves mountains but matures only with the aid of time and discipline."
"But Dad, what if a person is dressed really nice or the president of a company or just somebody really, really nice?"
"Good question, Son. On the outside, people can be kind, polite, helpful and maybe even give you money. But on the inside, their heart can be dark and full of deception or evil intentions. Most people are good and over time they will reveal their character and earn your trust. Other people you know in common with them will also verify their credibility. Ultimately though, you will recognize them by their fruits."
"Thanks Dad, I'll be on the look out for those bad apples."
"I sure do love you, Son."
A fictional dialogue based on Matthew 7:15.
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."
Author: James Richardson
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