A classmate of mine passed away recently in a very sudden manner, that left everyone in shock. In one moment, she was here and then poof, in an instant she wasn’t. The cause was a massive heart attack. It was totally unexpected by all as she had no underlying symptoms or family history of the disease. Anytime death creeps up so suddenly, one cannot help but reflect on the fragility of life. All of us are given the same life, but it’s our lifetime that differs. My friend’s lifetime was only 45 years.

This brings us to the blog topic for this week, “The axe is already at the root of the tree”. This passage of scripture was spoken by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:10. It was addressed to the Pharisees and Sadducees as these were the church elect at the time. When I read this scripture recently, the imagery of a huge axe leaning against the root of a tree vividly came to mind.

If anyone was driving past and saw a large axe leaning up against a tree, the first thing that would come into their mind is, that tree is going to get cut down. I believe this would be a normal thought for most. The driver would be thinking that at any moment now, the owner of the axe will appear and commence chopping.  

The thing is, many of us are walking around with an axe pressed upon our neck and right in line with a main artery. Any moment now, the hand of Jesus can swing it, but what restrains Him is His grace and mercy. Don’t read and pass this paragraph too quickly, because I want you to pause and consider if an axe is at your root.

You want to know how this axe reaches there? The axe reaches there when you don’t produce enough fruit.  This is also supported by other scriptures which state the same thing (Mark 11:12-25, Luke 13:6-8). The lack of fruit causes the farmer God to swing or not swing, but let it be known that God will always swing.  If you are NOT producing fruit, then He will swing at your root and cut you down. If you are producing fruit, then He will swing, but it would be at your branches to prune you in order for more fruit to be produced. I want the axe, but I need it severing the right place.

I really want us to be awakened to the necessity of bringing forth fruit in our due season, for in a moment, our lifetime can disappear and all opportunities gone. So how good was the man who made this statement in terms of bringing forth fruit? Let’s examine him a bit.

John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey so this tells me his bodily frame would have been on the skinny side. He wore clothes made with camels hair and a leather belt around his waist. In my opinion, his frame and apparel did not make him the most attractive to look upon. Yet still, the people all around Jerusalem, Judea and the whole region came to him. Given how he looked and coupled with the fact that he lived in the wilderness, I don’t think modern day followers would have been visiting John, if he was alive today.

However in John’s time, he was able to pull them from afar regardless of where he was located or how he appeared. This was facilitated by the anointing of God on his life. The anointing gives us the ability to pull them from afar. It’s not about how good our church website looks, or how good our musician’s play, or the many programs the church offers, or how good our pastor is at orating. What really makes us pull them from afar and also keep them, is the anointing, and John had the anointing.

Thinking about this even further, some of us can’t even pull them from near much less far. Meaning, we as believers have people right around us and we don’t or won’t even show forth Christian values so that they can be impacted…! I say this to our shame. If you are such a person, then you are a candidate for the axe being laid at your root.

What have you done lately to actively win a soul for the Lord? Are you getting up each day and consciously and deliberately being a good son and working for the Kingdom? If your answer is no, then check yourself, as the axe is laid at your root. If we truly understand what our role and responsibilities are in Christ, we will realize that many of us have axes laid at our root. It is only the mercies of God that is stopping Him from swinging.

This blog might seem a bit pointed and in some ways harsh, but it is the words of God. I am not adding to it, nor taking away from it. I am just simply sharing what God has laid on my heart, to the benefit of myself and others. My prayer is that someone is shaken and awaken from their dormancy by these words, to the saving of their soul, as well as others who can benefit by the potential of their lives.

PS: Dane Miller was last asking a farmer to aim high at the branches and leave the root for another year.

Your Brother in the Lord,

Dane Miller – “God is the Author, I am the Pen”

Authored Book – What is the Woman Saying – Lessons from Biblical Women.

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