Matthew 13:23, ” As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (NRV)

I took a bite, and almost threw up.  The mango was fresh.  The mango was huge, almost the size of a baby’s head.  When I bit into the mango, it was fresh and cold.  The mango juice oozed from each side of my mouth, and flowed down my hands. The mango looked good.  It was the right size, but the taste was horrendous.  Why?

Dozens of mango trees formed the fence around our village.  There were mango trees in the middle of the homestead. There were mango trees behind the houses.  All these trees produced different types of mangoes, yet the fruit was delicious.  The mango trees produced Brooks, Kent, Keitt, and other types of mangoes. But this mango tree produced mangoes that tasted like soap! Why?

My family had built grass bathing area called “chinjahouse.”  After you were done taking a bath in the “chinjahouse” you would pour the soapy water onto the ground.  The soapy water would seep through the rocks and then would permeated the soapy soil below.  The tree’s roots would draw nutrients and water from the soapy soil.  Consequently, the soapy water would travel up the tree stem, branches, and on to the fruit the tree produced.  Thus, the mango I ate tasted like the bath soap I used.

The Bible mentions the concept of bearing fruit many times. Jesus told the parable of the sower who sowed seed. The seed fell on different types of soil. Some seed fell on dry a path, while the other fell on rocky ground. The other seed fell on soil that had weeds and thorns that choked the seed.  Some seed fell on good soil.  This seed produced good, sweet harvest. This is an example of people who hear the Gospel and produce fruit.

What does to bear fruit mean? This is to live a life like Jesus. A life like Jesus reveals itself in your character, words, thoughts, and actions.  Your fruit shows what your roots are feeding on. Your spiritual intake determines your character. What you feed your mind shapes your behavior. Your environment determines your destiny.

• Where the mango tree was planted determined the quality of its fruit.
• Where the mango tree drew its nutrients determined the taste of its fruit.
• If you want to know the quality of the fruit, know the quality of the nutrients the tree feeds on.
• What do you feed your soul?
• From where does your spiritual food come?
• What is your fruit like?