Our reading this morning is the sixth chapter of Luke. Read through this and you’ll find some very familiar passages – the Beatitudes, the “love your enemies” quote, the “judge not” directive, and more. Verses 43-45 are my focus today.
For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Have you noticed that the teaching of Jesus sends those with questions about other’s sins directly back to look at themselves? Jesus doesn’t focus on how to fix other people. Earlier on in this chapter he tells us to love our enemies, to give them our coats if they are cold and our food if they are hungry. He doesn’t tell us to examine whether they are worthy – just to love them. Then he warns us that if we judge others, we should be prepared to be held to the same standard of judgment we use on those we judge. Following that is this analogy of our hearts and actions to a tree bearing fruit.
Jesus is pointing us inward – He is telling us that our actions and words are a direct reflection of what is in our hearts. Of what we value and treasure. He wants our actions to be good – but that’s not enough. He wants us to know that it is what we love – WHO we love – that matters. That by treasuring and focusing on what matters, our actions (our fruit) will be good.
Lord – help me to treasure your promises and gift of salvation above all else. Let me be concerned more about my own heart than about the actions of people around me. Help me to live in this world as someone who loves you so much that my mouth speaks love and my actions show it.