Luke 6:43-45
A Tree and Its Fruit
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."
Reflection:
Jesus, who is fond of using metaphors, uses another analogy from nature today to describe an effective spiritual life. He uses the analogy of trees that bear good fruit and bear bad fruit. As someone who has a few fruit trees in his yard, I know that once a good lemon tree starts producing good fruit, it just keeps on producing more and more fruit. We have to find more and more uses for lemons. Lemonade, lemon water, lemon bars, lemon pies; any other ideas. By contrast if we have a tree or even a bush that doesn't produce that it is supposed to, we wonder how long should we keep it. Will it come back? Were the conditions not right for it in the first place? Would something else do better there? But one thing is for sure, as the planter of the tree there is an expectation for it to produce what it was intended for. The goal is fruit, although that may look different for every tree or bush.
You can see why Jesus uses these metaphors as he teaches on the kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven. And then he makes the application that a good man brings good things which from from a good heart. He doesn't produce the good things, they overflow from a good and healthy heart. He ends by saying that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. So a good indicator of what is going on in your heart is what you speak about the most. It would be interesting to record a tape of all the words you said that day. Would there be words of encouragement, full of truth, edifying those around you? Or, are your words more about being others down, crude and not reflecting who you are in Christ?
We often spend lots of money to diagnose what our physical heart condition is. We measure blood pressure, resting heart rate, and undergo stress tests to see how our heart performs. We have blood tests and EKG's to see if their is clogging in the main arteries. And, of course, this is all good and wise to do. But I wonder how much time we spend evaluating our heart condition in the terms Jesus describes in Luke. One way to analyze might be how do we use our words? Are they good words that build up. We might also say are there "good works" that flow out a good heart? Is our heart moved to see things needed in the church or the world and then are we moved into action for that good work.
Thanksgiving is a time to remember all we have been blessed with. As our mealtime prayer goes, "thank you God for family, food and friends!" At this time of the year it is also appropriate to thank God for every spiritual blessing we have in Christ. As we stay rooted and abiding in God's love in Christ, the bible promises us we will bear fruit that lasts. One of the great ways we can say thanks to God for this gift is a heart that flows with good words and works in Jesus' name. Amen.
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."
Reflection:
Jesus, who is fond of using metaphors, uses another analogy from nature today to describe an effective spiritual life. He uses the analogy of trees that bear good fruit and bear bad fruit. As someone who has a few fruit trees in his yard, I know that once a good lemon tree starts producing good fruit, it just keeps on producing more and more fruit. We have to find more and more uses for lemons. Lemonade, lemon water, lemon bars, lemon pies; any other ideas. By contrast if we have a tree or even a bush that doesn't produce that it is supposed to, we wonder how long should we keep it. Will it come back? Were the conditions not right for it in the first place? Would something else do better there? But one thing is for sure, as the planter of the tree there is an expectation for it to produce what it was intended for. The goal is fruit, although that may look different for every tree or bush.
You can see why Jesus uses these metaphors as he teaches on the kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven. And then he makes the application that a good man brings good things which from from a good heart. He doesn't produce the good things, they overflow from a good and healthy heart. He ends by saying that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. So a good indicator of what is going on in your heart is what you speak about the most. It would be interesting to record a tape of all the words you said that day. Would there be words of encouragement, full of truth, edifying those around you? Or, are your words more about being others down, crude and not reflecting who you are in Christ?
We often spend lots of money to diagnose what our physical heart condition is. We measure blood pressure, resting heart rate, and undergo stress tests to see how our heart performs. We have blood tests and EKG's to see if their is clogging in the main arteries. And, of course, this is all good and wise to do. But I wonder how much time we spend evaluating our heart condition in the terms Jesus describes in Luke. One way to analyze might be how do we use our words? Are they good words that build up. We might also say are there "good works" that flow out a good heart? Is our heart moved to see things needed in the church or the world and then are we moved into action for that good work.
Thanksgiving is a time to remember all we have been blessed with. As our mealtime prayer goes, "thank you God for family, food and friends!" At this time of the year it is also appropriate to thank God for every spiritual blessing we have in Christ. As we stay rooted and abiding in God's love in Christ, the bible promises us we will bear fruit that lasts. One of the great ways we can say thanks to God for this gift is a heart that flows with good words and works in Jesus' name. Amen.
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