Brown Rot is a common disease seen on fruit, especially fruit that has fallen from the tree and been left on the ground. This disease can be difficult to destroy, seeing as it is a fungus. A fungus can produce a very large amount of spores. These spores are incredibly small and can travel a surprising distance. Once it appears on fallen fruit it can quickly spread to the main plant and will, eventually, appear on the fruit still on the tree.
Look at your life spiritually. What does the fruit look like coming from your life? Is it good fruit, or is it corrupted? Jesus told His disciples, "those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man" (Matthew 15:18) The heart is affected by what we allow into our lives. What we read, what we listen to, places we go all have a bearing on our spiritual condition. Some will say, "It doesn't bother me!" It may not now, but eventually it will affect your speech. Jesus told the Pharisees "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Matthew 12:34) What is in the heart will eventually come out of your mouth.
FUNGUS GROWS BEST WHEN THERE IS NO AIR MOVING
Fungus grows best in damp areas that do not have good air flow. The spores of fungus land on the area and quickly establish themselves and start producing more spores in a very short space of time.
When our life gets so cluttered that the Holy Spirit cannot flow in our lives, you can be sure some spiritual fungus will appear to corrupt our life. Going to the wrong places, hanging with the wrong crowd, reading and watching things that are not Christlike will quickly show up in our lives. The Apostle Paul said "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8:6) It is important then to remove those things quickly before it is too late.
PRUNING HELPS THE LIFE OF THE TREE
One of the best ways to protect your fruit tree from fungal infection is to prune it carefully. Fruit trees must be pruned to create an open structure so that the fresh air can flow freely throughout the leaves and branches. Not only does this pruning help reduce the risk of fungal infection it can also ensure that the sunlight reaches all parts of the tree. By ensuring that all leaves get the maximum amount of sunshine will help to make the tree stronger and more able to withstand and fight off infection and disease.
The Apostle John said "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) The Holy Spirit cannot move freely in a vessel that is overtaken with sin. The sin must be removed, just as the branches are trimmed to allow the light to shine on all the leaves, so that our lives will be open continually to the Lord. Hidden sin will affect the fruit eventually. Staying in the Word of God, reading and meditating daily will strengthen our lives, causing us to be able to withstand the temptations to sin. We must examine ourselves regularly to make sure there is nothing around us that would infect our spiritual life and thereby corrupt our fruit.
IS YOUR TREE HEALTHY?
What are you doing to insure your fruit trees stay healthy? Growing up in the state of Washington many of my summer jobs involved working in orchards. I remember one summer working for a man in our church that owned a cherry orchard. He had given me a hoe and told me to go around each of the trees to cut away any gross or weeds growing next tot the tree. He said that if the grass or weeds get up high enough, it will attract rodents that can destroy the life of the tree. If we do not remove the clutter from our lives, it will attract individuals that will eventually destroy our lives. What is your fruit telling others about you? Fruit doesn't lie!
