Luke 6:43-49 Words To Live By

Luke 6:43-49 Words To Live By

"A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thorn bushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed."

This short paragraph is full of well known verses – about fruit bearing, house building, etc. But the central message is about how we must deal with our world. If our core is rotten, then we cannot bear good fruit. If our foundation is built on sand then we are susceptible to all sorts of dangers and temptations that will knock us off our intended path. “A good man produces goodness from the goodness of his heart.” Here Jesus is telling us all of our life’s work starts from our interior, from our heart. If we pay attention to that, to the activities that build up and strengthen our interior life then we will be better able to deal with the challenges life throws at us and survive and thrive to do produce much good. How do we do this? Jesus did it by going off to pray, studying the scriptures, meditating, fasting. Back in the day when I was teaching CCD I used to tell my students a story comparing their souls to radio receivers. The Lord God is beaming out his strong signal of love and salvation at all times and in all directions. But if we are not out there “tuning it in” we can miss it entirely. The more we try to tune in, the stronger our connection to God and the stronger God’s impact will be on our lives.