We are called to make the tree of this world good.
Waiting for God’s Goodness (4)
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.” Matthew 12.33
Actively waiting
We’re beginning see that waiting on the Lord for His goodness to be known in the land of the living, is hardly a passive endeavor. We’re not merely sitting around hoping that God will do something. Ultimately, only God can bring forth His goodness, so that the goodness of the Lord which isin all the earth may be observed, acknowledged, enlarged, and emulated, to the praise and honor of God alone.
Only God can bring forth the fruit of goodness in the world. But we have a part in this good work, and God expects His people to be busy about that part. Christians are the agents of God’s goodness in the world. We are people called to be equipped, zealous, and ready for good works. It falls to us to discern the goodness of God, to model that goodness, and to bring that goodness to the attention of others, so that the knowledge of the glory of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.
That will certainly require more of us than simply sitting around looking at our watches.
We’ve also seen that waiting on the Lord for His goodness requires diligent and faithful prayer. How much we long for the goodness of God to come to light will be demonstrated by the amount of time we spend pleading with God to do what only He can do.
And still there is more. The goodness of God is like a seed, sown by His common grace into the weed-infested soils of the world. The seed has all the potential for great, visible, glorious goodness – just as the acorn holds within itself all the majesty of a mighty oak.
But the seed of divine goodness – which we can discover in creation, culture, the Word and Law of God, the court of heaven, and the people whom He has saved and called for Himself – is so designed as to require nurturing before it can bring forth its full potential. We must make the tree good, as our Lord Jesus explained, or else the weeds and brambles of the world will choke and thwart and overgrow it.
Making the tree good
What is involved in making the tree good?
For a tree to bear good fruit it must be watered, fertilized, protected against harmful pests and blights, and regularly pruned. Trees have the potential to bear good fruit, but it doesn’t just happen. If we don’t work to make the trees good, the wickedness which everywhere abounds will prevent them from bearing the good fruit for which they have been sown.
So it is with our lives. Christians are a people who bear Good News. They can discern the goodness of God, and should be quick to point His goodness out to others. And they themselves have the power of God’s Spirit at work within them so that they can embody the goodness of God in the good works they do in every area of their lives – all their relationships, roles, and responsibilities (Gal. 5.22, 23; Phil. 2.13).
But goodness doesn’t just happen. Waiting on God’s goodness requires that we make our souls good, and that we bring our lives into conformity with God’s good plans for us and His world. We must work on ourselves continuously, nurturing our souls and lives for goodness, and encouraging and assisting one another in this high and holy calling.
This will entail being firmly planted in the good soil of faith, beside the flowing waters of the Spirit (Ps. 1). Let us sow the good seed of the Word liberally over and over into our souls, and guard and keep that soil and seed from every evil influence. Whatever has the potential to thwart the fruit of goodness in our souls or lives must be identified, resisted, and expunged. In its place let us work hard to cultivate every good thought, affection, priority, and work that God’s Word reveals to us.
We cannot merely patch on a few good works here and there. A life of goodness issues from the goodness we are becoming in our soul, where the Lord Himself is making us good. We have been called and redeemed for good works, and the way to realize this purpose is to set ourselves to be made good by Him alone Who is powerful to do so.
Making the world good
From the good God is making of us, and the good fruit He brings through us, we may expect to bring His goodness to light in all aspects of our lives. Historically, Christians who have been increasing in the goodness of God have been used of God to bring out His goodness in all areas of life and culture. Culture can be redeemed. Relationships can be renewed. Whole societies can be reformed and become seed beds for God’s goodness when the people of God take seriously their calling to make the tree good, both in their lives and their times.
Wherever we discern the goodness of God, we must remark it, celebrate it, and do our best to cultivate more of it. Whatever comes into our lives, we may affect it for good by knowing what is good, praying diligently for God’s goodness, and doing as much goodness as we can in each opportunity and situation of our lives (Eph. 5.15-17).
We are called to make the tree of this world good, beginning in our own lives, and then branching out into every relationship, role, and responsibility in which we are involved. By so doing we wait actively on the Lord to honor our faithfulness and bring His goodness to light in the land of the living.
For reflection
1. What are some differences between passive waiting and active waiting on the Lord?
2. How could you improve in the work of making your own soul a better nurturing ground for the goodness of the Lord?
3. Suggest some ways of preparing each day to be an agent of God’s goodness in the world.
Next steps – Conversation: How can Christians help one another to make the tree good in their souls, lives, and times? Discuss this question with some Christian friends.
T. M. Moore
The Spirit of God executes the will of King Jesus, as His Agent on earth, for the progress of His Kingdom. Learn more about the kingship of Jesus and our place in it by ordering a copy of the book, The Kingship of Jesus, from our online store (click here).
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
