Judges 9:8
The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
Abimelech was an evil man who lived for himself. Abimelech had killed all the sons of Gideon but Jotham, who escaped from the slaughter of this wicked man. When Jotham heard of Abimelech’s evil desire to conquer a city, he used a parable of trees in the forest to describe the wickedness of Abimelech and his selfishness to live for himself. There is a great truth in this little parable that shows how every believer ought to live daily.
A tree never lives for itself, but it lives to help others. Likewise, the believer should be like a tree that never lives for themselves but to be a blessing and help to those whom they come in contact with each day. Sadly, many live for themselves and their enjoyment like Abimelech did, but they find the prick of the thorns of sin hurt their life, and then they want to blame the way of Christ for their rebellious lifestyle. My friend, don't blame the old paths when you chose to walk through the thorns of sin. Instead of blaming the old paths, blame yourself for choosing to live for yourself. However, the three trees that Jotham talked about show what the believer ought to live for each day.
The first tree Jotham talked about was the olive tree that lived to honor God. One of your daily prayers should be to ask God to help you live your life that day to honor Him. Your life has never been about you, and you will always find your life feeling empty when you live for your own pleasure. Your purpose of living is to bring glory to God. You ought to be that olive tree to honor God with the words you say, the actions you do, and the works you accomplish. You will never fail in life when you live daily to honor God.
The second tree Jotham talked about was the fig tree that existed to bear fruit to feed others. Every day you should desire for God to lead you across the path of someone that you can lead to Him. Not only is your purpose to honor God with your life, but you will honor Him by leading the lost to Christ. Christ did not come to play on this earth, but He came to seek and to save the lost. There is no greater way for the believer to honor Christ with their life than to lead someone to Christ daily. You will find much joy when you learn to live your life to lead others to the Saviour.
The third tree Jotham talked about was the vine that existed to cheer God and man. In other words, you ought to live your daily life to cheer someone’s day. This world is a tough world to live in, and you should make it a daily goal to make someone’s day a better day. A smile on the face and a cheerful greeting is an easy way to cheer the day of another. Maybe you could cheer someone’s day by stopping to pray for them when they tell you of a hardship they are facing. You should ask yourself whose day you have brightened at the end of each day.
All of these things mentioned will only be done when you realize your purpose for existence is not to exist for yourself, but to exist for God and others. True joy in life is always found in living for God and others. True sorrow and disappointment are always the result when you live for self. You have a choice every day to live for yourself, or live to please God and others. The latter choice is where you make every day count for Christ, where you will make the greatest impact with your life, and where you will find true joy.