“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit….The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil.” Matthew 12:33, 35
My fiance and I are approaching our wedding date in August, and as might be expected, I have occasionally wondered, have I made the right choice? Is this the man God has chosen for me? Have I heard His voice clearly?
Ed is a truly wonderful man. During seven months of dating, he has done absolutely nothing to raise a red flag. He has loved me unconditionally, and been a gentleman in every way. Still, having lived many years on this earth, and having seen how people can manage to hide significant personality flaws, I’ve still had those little nagging fears.
It’s not for lack of prayer and going to God daily. I’ve sought Him, asked for signs, and prayed for wisdom and peace. And every step of the way, God has assured me that yes, this is the right man. Still…I wanted to be absolutely sure. And yesterday, God gave me my answer.
I had just walked down the back steps to feed my dog and turned around to head back into the house when I tripped on the top step and went flying toward the open sliding-glass door. Fortunately, I only hit my shoulder on the metal edge of the door and went sprawling. Ed, who had been standing inside watching me, was instantly on his hands and knees, kissing my shoulder. He did it without conscious thought; his reaction came straight from the heart. As I processed the scene in my head later, I realized that the episode had shown me Ed’s true fruit, and how much he really loves me. I now know his true character.
And that begs the question: How do our hearts react before our heads have a chance to think about it? What is our true character? Do we have “good treasure” inside that brings forth what is good? Or do we have evil treasure inside that brings forth what is evil? If we are in question about that in ourselves, we need to inspect what, in fact, is “our treasure.” What are we storing up in our hearts? The word of God or filth on TV? Happy, uplifting music or trashy tunes? Anger and hostility or love and generosity?
And for those singles who are reading this…if you are dating someone you’re not sure about, ask God to show you that person’s true character. If you go to Him with a heart that truly desires His will for your life, He will show you. He will direct your path–and reveal a person’s true fruit– if you earnestly seek His plan for your life.
