Catching Fire: The Power of Our Wordsናሙና

Scripture is full of metaphors, and one that shows up consistently are fruit, trees, and vines. One of the most famous is in Galatians, where Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit and then lists characteristics we, as followers of Jesus, should bear in our lives. It’s the idea that when we’re living connected to the Holy Spirit, there are things that will result from that connection. This same idea shows up in this proverb as well. There is fruit that comes from the words we speak—our words produce something, and they bear a kind of fruit.

The question we should be asking ourselves is whether our words are bearing the kind of fruit that makes a life we want to live and that honors God because there’s a connection between what we say and what we experience in our lives. Our words play a part in making our lives, setting them on a course to produce the life we ultimately end up living. Words create a reality, a life we live. Just like God used words to create life in the very beginning by speaking the world into existence, we, too, can create life and make life. So, what kind of world are our words creating? What is the fruit? Is it good and healthy and helpful? Is it nourishing and life-giving? If the fruit isn’t good, how do we change that? How do we make a life worth living with our words?