[Jesus speaking]
Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Most of us can relate to cars because many of us use them almost every day. Cars are complex machines, more complex with all the computerized gadgets these days. Setting aside electric cars, most of them run on gasoline.

You can have the fanciest car in the world and it can still run out of gas and stop working. Gas is the energy source that fuels the engine that propels the car to travel. And when you fill up, the quality of the gas is important. Bad gas can significantly hinder not only the operation of the car but its long-term reliability and performance. The car can look good on the outside, but with bad gas it will perform poorly.

Now what if you put oil in the gas tank? It would not work. It would require major repair work to flush out the oil and get it running again.

Just like the tree analogy, the tree can look good, but how it performs (bearing fruit) is based on the nutrients it is fed and the light it gets, and the pruning and care taken.

Jesus makes a great point here. Our mouths speak what our heart is full of. What we put into our minds, and our ambitions and priorities, will govern how we speak and act. An evil heart cannot produce good fruit. And a good heart does not produce evil fruit.

How do I maintain a heart condition every day that is full of the goodness of God?

Lord, fill me up with your goodness I pray. Keep me hungry and humble as I seek after you. May my life reflect your heart priorities and love to others.