No Fruit Without Roots
Gardeners will tell you not to expect fruit from the trees that are planted until several years have passed. The reason is because the tree needs time to spread its roots, and the deeper the roots go the better the fruit becomes.
Our problem is that we want the fruit right after we plant the tree. And this is true for our spiritual lives as well. Like any child we want maturity before we grow up. But maturity takes time in order to let the roots go deep into the soil. In other words, a person cannot grow into spiritual maturity while they are still emotionally immature.
And so, after we get planted in the Lord, we need to grow our roots down into the Lord. We need to be like the tree King David talks about that was planted by the rivers of waters bringing forth abundant fruit, whose leaf is always green, and it prospered.
“He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3)
Talking about the success of Assyria, the Lord likened Assyria to a cedar tree of Lebanon, whose roots grew down to underground an water source that made it grow and exceed above all the other trees.
“Thus, it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches, because its roots reached to abundant waters.” (Ezekiel 31:7)
So today believers need to start tapping into the water of the Holy Spirit to get their nourishment from God’s word so they can prosper in whatever they do for the Lord.
Jesus said, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:20)
We need to let our roots grow down deep into the Lord so that we can grow upward and be fruitful, that is, everything that God has created for us to be.